The following link was given to me with the question about whether or not the Bible teaches individual predestination, especially with regard to salvation.
https://www.openbible.info/topics/being_chosen
The short answer is no. Below is my response edited slightly for this website and to speak to a broader audience.
So when we see passages that talk about someone being chosen, they are generally grouped into a few different categories. None of them are about God pre-choosing before time or birth that a person will be saved or lost. I have grouped these verses into those sub-categories with an explanation of each category. If the short summary is insufficient in your mind for any verse, we can expand on that verse and try to understand why I put it in the category I did and why I believe that verse, in context, does not teach predestination of individuals to salvation as Calvinism teaches.
Predestined Groups Not Individuals[]
In this first category, we see God has chosen a group or organization of people, usually a nation, to do a thing. This does not mean that every individual within that nation will reach that outcome, only that the group itself is generally chosen for that purpose. The following verses are about these groups with the first two categories applying generically or to multiple nations:
Psalm 33:12 ESV
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
Matthew 21:43 ESV
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
Israel/Judah[]
Some examples include the choosing of Israel as a nation to fulfill the promise to Abraham to bring the Messiah into the world, the choosing of the Edomites to serve the Israelites and eventually break free of that servitude, and the church as the body of the saved under the rule of the Messiah/Christ. Not every Israelite was in the line of genealogy to bring Messiah into the world. Eventually, 9 of those tribes were completely cut off before Messiah ever arrived leaving only Judah, Benjamin, and Levi by the time Jesus was born.
Exodus 19:6 ESV
And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
Leviticus 19:2 ESV
“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 ESV
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 14:2 ESV
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 30:1-8 ESV
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. ...
Psalm 135:4 ESV
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.
Isaiah 41:8 ESV
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 43:1-3 ESV
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Isaiah 43:10 ESV
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 9:11 ESV
Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—
The Church Universal[]
In regard to the church, God's ultimate plan was for the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, a body in which all people of all nations could come into and be saved by grace through obedient faith. God gave grace to all men (Titus 2:11). Properly understood, grace is the gospel of Christ (I have an article that shows this from scripture). God calls us through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14). Therefore, God has called all men. Yet it was still up to the individual to obey (Romans 6:3-18) then remain faithful until death (Rev. 2:10) to stay a part of that nation into eternity.
Luke 18:7 ESV
And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
John 6:37 ESV
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Romans 8:29 ESV
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 8:30 ESV
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 11:5 ESV
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
Ephesians 1:3-5 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Ephesians 1:11 ESV
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Ephesians 2:10 ESV
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:19 ESV
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Colossians 3:12-17 ESV
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ...
1 Thessalonians 1:4 ESV
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 ESV
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
2 Timothy 2:10 ESV
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Titus 2:14 ESV
Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Hebrews 11:10 ESV
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
1 Peter 1:1 ESV
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1 Peter 1:2 ESV
According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Revelation 17:14 ESV
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
Apostles or Prophets - Not Salvation[]
This second category is also not about predestination unto salvation as Calvin taught. In this section, we see verses - usually John 13-17 - that talk about the apostles being chosen by Jesus while He was on Earth. This is no different than me choosing who I might invite to help me playtest my game or work with in my company. I will choose people I trust and who I know will accomplish what tasks I set them to do.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 ESV
Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
This verse is similar to Christ choosing men for a task, but it does not speak to the idea of Jeremiah being chosen to be saved.
John 13:19 ESV
I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.
John 15:16 ESV
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
John 16:13 ESV
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Galatians 1:15-16 ESV
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
Jesus[]
In this third category, the verse or verses in question are about Jesus, the only individual predestined to anything in all of scripture. As God the Son, from before time was, He was predestined to die for our sins. No other individual ever had a destiny set for them in such a way. At best, God states what He knows about a person prophetically (e.g. Judas) but not what He has determined for them.
Psalm 45:7 ESV
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Luke 2:21 ESV
And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
John 1:1 ESV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 ESV
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 5:30 ESV
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Actually Teaches Choice Not Predestination[]
These verses, in their proper context, actually teach the personal responsibility of the individual to obey the gospel to be part of the group that God has determined to be the body of the saved - or at least a type of that. In this, these verses actually teach the opposite of predestination, that grace is universal and all that is key to the individual being saved is their personal obedient faith. Note, by the way, how many of these alleged passages that teach predestination actually teach choice and personal responsibility. It's by far the largest category of those verses listed on that site.
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Exodus 19:5 ESV
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Nehemiah 4:14 ESV
And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Proverbs 22:6 ESV
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Isaiah 6:8 ESV
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Matthew 6:24 ESV
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 22:14 ESV
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 26:28 ESV
For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
John 3:16 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 6:40-41 ESV
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
John 6:44 ESV
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:65 ESV
And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
John 14:6 ESV
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 17:20-22 ESV
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
Acts 13:48 ESV
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
Romans 6:23 ESV
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:6 ESV
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:28-30 ESV
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. [Also category 1/Church]
Romans 12:2 ESV
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Galatians 2:20 ESV
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 3:7 ESV
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Galatians 3:29 ESV
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
2 Thessalonians 2:14 ESV
To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:4 ESV
Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Peter 2:5 ESV
If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
1 John 1:9 ESV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 2:27 ESV
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Revelation 3:20 ESV
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Foreknowledge Is Not Foredetermination[]
For this category, we see an example of God's omniscience but no evidence of His active hand in determining individual destinations in eternity.
Matthew 7:13-14 ESV
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
The Book of Revelation - A Book of Symbols About A Specific Event[]
I have set aside this section for verses from Revelation because the book is a special case of prophecy related to a very specific event in history. I know that you do not see Revelation as I do, but I can only answer from what I know. Revelation is about events that would shortly come to pass in John's day; the time was at hand; Jesus was coming quickly. Each of these verses must be understood in the context of that event...the coming destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Jewish State.
Revelation 1:1-20 ESV
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...
This passage does not actually speak to the idea of predestination. It should really go in Category 4 - Actually Teaches Choice Not Predestination because it speaks to those who are blessed being the ones who read and hear, those who listen, understand, and put into action. Even if we continue to verse 6 where John writes "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." this would fit category 1/Church Universal and has nothing to do with individuals. Furthermore, the rest of the chapter speaks to the lampstands before God representing the individual congregations of Asia. Chapters 2-3 speak of those whole congregations repenting or they would be in danger of having their lampstands removed. That is the opposite of Calvinism.
Revelation 13:8 ESV
And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
The ESV here does not translate this passage well. The KJV has a more clear word order:
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
The difference is grammatically the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world rather than the writing of people's names in the book of life. I just covered this in Exodus 32 where Moses asks to be blotted out of the book of Life and earlier, in Revelation 3:5, John wrote that some would not have their names blotted out if they were faithful. In Revelation 22:19, John writes, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." showing that it is entirely possible to have your name removed from the book of Life. Again, that's the opposite of Calvin's Eternal Security concept found in Unconditional Election and Perseverance of the Saints.
Other translations such as Young's Literal and the original Greek will uphold this better word order.
Non Sequitur - Does Not Relate to the Topic[]
These verses were listed at the link but did not seem to relate to the topic of predestination.
Psalm 82:6 ESV
I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
Proverbs 27:17 ESV
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Jeremiah 5:22 ESV
Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
Matthew 7:12 ESV
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Luke 1:37 ESV
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
John 9:9 ESV
Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”
John 10:30 ESV
I and the Father are one.”
Acts 3:15 ESV
And you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
Ephesians 2:9 ESV
Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Philippians 4:13 ESV
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Conclusion[]
As people challenge each verse individually and I give specific responses to those verses, I will put my responses to those challenges under each verse.
In Truth and Love,
Ernie