Chosen According to Foreknowledge

Published in

The Flower Falls

17 min readApr 29, 2019

Peter’s letters to God’s Chosen People

NOTE: The post you are about to read is adapted from Chapter 12 of my book The Flower Falls: A Careful Examination of Calvinism’s TULIP. The entire book is available here in blog format, but you can find it in print form on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or ask for it at your favorite bookstore.

Peter’s Letters to God’s Chosen People

Peter faltered regularly between faith and fear, boldness and timidity, wisdom and recklessness. Yet, for all his foibles, he was a beloved friend of Jesus, a passionate apostle, and a faithful leader of the early church. As such, he was also intimately acquainted with the problems that faced the growing church and aware of the divisions that existed between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus. He knew the effect false teachers were having on the church. He recognized the tendency of some people to rely on their heritage, rather than Jesus, for salvation. And he understood that some people needed encouragement and reminders about how to live in the face of various trials. This knowledge seemed to be the impetus for his two letters.

With the heart of a shepherd, Peter wrote of God causing people to be born again in accordance with his mercy (1 Peter 1:3). He told his readers of the imperishable and undefiled inheritance that awaited believers protected by the power of God through faith (1:4–5). He encouraged those suffering, saying the outcome of their faith would be the salvation of their soul (v.9). He reminded them that they were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold but with precious blood, “as of a lamb unblemished and spotless” (vv. 7–9). And, of course, he provided practical reminders about how to live out their faith in difficult circumstances.

Peter’s letters are full of truths every follower of Jesus can rejoice in and learn from. However, not everything he wrote applies to every follower of Jesus. Peter wrote to a specific group of people: “To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:1‒2). Calvinists tend to read these words and believe themselves to be chosen “according to foreknowledge.” They also believe that being chosen carries an unconditional guarantee of salvation.

Those beliefs likely provide a measure of comfort, but there are at least two problems with them. The first is that Peter addressed his letter to first-century Israelites scattered throughout the area we know today as Turkey. The second is that Calvinists seem to overlook the fact that nothing in Peter’s letters supports the idea that being chosen provided a guarantee of eternal life. In fact, he wrote in his second letter that false teachers would arise among them and introduce destructive heresies “even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).

Peter: An Apostle to the Circumcised

The claim that people bought by the Master would deny him, bringing destruction on themselves, might be enough for some people to reject Calvinism’s unconditional election, but TULIP’s roots run deep so others might need a little more evidence. With that in mind, let’s start by remembering that, though God chose Peter as the one through whom the Gentiles would first hear the word of the gospel and believe (Acts 15:7; 10), he was known as an apostle to Israelites. Paul referenced this in his letter to the Galatians, saying he had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the Gentiles “just as Peter had been to the circumcised.” And “He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:7–8).

Knowing that Peter was an apostle to the “circumcised” (people of Israelite descent) helps explain why he addressed his first letter to “chosen” people scattered throughout the Roman Empire. In fact, three of the towns he mentioned in the opening sentences are also mentioned in Acts 2 which records his bold declarations the first Pentecost morning after Jesus ascended.

Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks, was one of three times each year that Israelites were to leave their homes and go to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast to the Lord. That year, however, proved unique. The text records that, as the apostles were gathered together, a noise like a violent rushing wind filled the house where they were sitting, tongues “as of fire” rested on each of them, “And they were all filled with the Spirit and began to speak with other tongues” (Acts 1:26-2:1–4).

Verses 5 and 6 go on to tell us that, upon hearing the sound, devout Jews “from every nation under heaven” who were living in Jerusalem came together saying,

“Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs” (Acts 2:7–11).

The mention of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia in 1 Peter 1:1 suggests the possibility that Peter wrote his letters to Israelites who were “pierced to the heart” that Pentecost morning, repented, and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins before returning to their birthplace to share the good news of Jesus with their relatives (Acts 2:37–38). We may never know. We can be sure, however, that they weren’t written to Gentile believers today.

The apostle Paul told the Galatians, “It is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7) and, “If you belong to Christ then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (3:29). This means all believers in Jesus are beneficiaries of all the promises made to Abraham’s descendants. What a glorious truth! However, the Scriptures neither say, nor imply, that all believers in Jesus are Israel.

Israel refers to descendants of Jacob — the only people group God called his chosen people. As we saw when looking at the illusory truth of Calvinism, the Lord said to Israel in Amos 3:2, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth.” Similarly, when recounting the statutes and ordinances God gave the Israelites, Moses reminded them, “For you are a people holy 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 14:2).

God chose Israel to be the nation through which the Messiah would come; the nation through which he would show his power, might, and mercy to the world; and the nation to proclaim him as the one true God to the people around them. Yet he never spoke of or even hinted at an unconditional promise of eternal life. In fact, as we saw previously, Paul wrote in Romans 11:20 that many in Israel had been broken off for their unbelief. And, when writing to the Corinthians, he urged them not to follow Israel’s example, explaining that, though Israel drank from the rock which was Christ, God was not pleased with most of them. Therefore, some were “laid low in the wilderness” and some were “destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:1–12).

These passages are inconsistent with the idea that being chosen carries an unconditional guarantee of eternal life, but they are consistent with Peter’s claims about salvation. Peter addressed his first letter to those “who are chosen” and his second to “those who received a faith of the same kind as ours.” Yet, rather than suggesting their salvation was linked to their identity as God’s chosen people, he told his readers the inheritance was reserved in heaven for believers who were protected by God’s power through faith, and that the outcome of their faith would be the salvation of their souls (1 Peter 1:4–9).

Further evidence that Peter’s letters were written to Israel as God’s chosen people is found in 1 Peter 2:9 where he wrote of them being a “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 of darkness into His marvelous light.”

The first part of this passage is taken from Exodus 19:5–6 where God instructed Moses to tell the sons of Israel: “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The greater context of the passage reveals God was speaking to his unconditionally chosen people, but his use of the word “if” in verse 5 indicates the blessings he spoke of — that of being of possession, priest, and holy nation — were all conditional, based on their obedience.

Peter drew the attention of his readers to Exodus 19{XE Exodus:19} to remind them they were chosen so they would proclaim God’s excellencies; but sadly, the Scriptures reveal a widespread lack of obedience. Perhaps that is why he later urged them, “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; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (2 Peter 1:10–11).

The verses preceding this passage indicate what “these things” were. After saying God granted them his precious and magnificent promises so they might become partakers of the divine nature, Peter went on,

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:5–9).

This passage is interesting because, when read out of context, it might cause people to question whether Peter was suggesting that entrance into the kingdom is attainable by works. But Peter didn’t say if they practiced “these things” they would gain entrance into the eternal kingdom, he said they would have an abundant entrance (vv.10–11). Entrance is supplied by faith; it’s abundantly supplied by adding these virtues to your faith.

Denying the Master

Calvinists make bold claims about people being unconditionally chosen and predestined to eternal life, but Peter didn’t seem to have any such notion. We touched on this earlier, but let’s take a closer look at 2 Peter 2:1 where, after referring to false prophets in Israel’s history, Peter wrote, “There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

Calvinists sometimes avoid this passage or suggest an alternate meaning for it, but the word among means just what it says: false teachers were among the people Peter referred to as chosen. And, not only were they among them, they were bought by the Master. The word translated “bought” is also used in Revelation 5:9 which speaks of Jesus purchasing men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. It’s used in Revelation 14:3–4 which speaks of the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. And it’s used in 1 Corinthians 7:23 where Paul told the Corinthians they had been bought with a price.

Peter graciously went on to present Noah and Lot as examples of people who had been spared from disaster, reminding his readers, “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” (vv.4–9). Yet, he continued his cautionary tone throughout verses 10–19 where he described the misdeeds of the false prophets, before concluding:

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘a dog returns to its own vomit,’ and, ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire’” (2 Peter 2:20–22).

The word translated “knowledge” here is the same word Peter used twice in the greeting of his letter: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:2–3).

The phrase true knowledge in the latter part of the passage might cause some people to question whether the false prophets had a true knowledge or only knowledge, but the word true is not in the original text. Peter used the same Greek word in both passages; epignosis, the noun form of the verb epiginosko which speaks of a full and complete knowledge. In fact, epignosko is the word he used in 2:21, where he wrote that “it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed to them” (emphasis mine).

Peter’s word choices don’t make it seem like he was comforting his readers with the idea they were unconditionally elected to salvation. Instead, his claim that people bought by the Master would deny him, bringing destruction on themselves, directly contradicts two of Calvinism’s TULIP points: limited atonement, which says Jesus only bought people who are unconditionally elected to eternal life, and perseverance of the saints, which says all people who were bought will persevere in faith.

Calvinists may have the best of intentions, but Peter’s letters not only contradict their ideas about salvation, they’re a reminder that modern-day believers in Jesus can’t arbitrarily apply biblical statements to themselves. We might have things in common with the original recipients of his letters. We might identify with some of their experiences of triumph and trouble. And, when observing the principles, commands, and warnings in his letters we can certainly gain insight on how to live. We err, however, when we apply statements to ourselves that weren’t addressed to us.

I told you in an earlier post of my ignorant relief when the youth pastor at my church left for the mission field. It hadn’t entered my mind that the new youth pastor would pick up where the previous one had left off — only far more aggressively.

When he made Calvinistic sounding statements during one of his first teachings, I was naively hopeful that his words would go over the heads of the teens, but reality hit home when a distraught young lady spoke up in our small discussion group saying she didn’t think the teaching represented God and the gospel accurately. I was relieved she recognized the conflict, but disheartened when the youth pastor’s wife suggested she was responding from emotion rather than reason.

I followed up her suggestion with a few words of appropriate support for the young lady and a reason to back up her objection. Then, when the night was over, I asked the youth pastor and his wife if we could meet to discuss what he taught that night and what the Scriptures say about salvation. They kindly accepted my offer — and our nearly 4 hour breakfast threatened to undo my simple faith. His unfolding of the Calvinistic view of the Scriptures was difficult enough, but when he gestured toward a very young girl in the restaurant and said that if God didn’t choose her then she had no hope of knowing Jesus and having eternal life, I was stunned.

I don’t recall much more of what we said after that, but I do remember he told me that if I didn’t support what he taught then I needed to be silent and not discuss that with the students. I understand authority and how confusing it can be when people in leadership send different messages; so, knowing I couldn’t be silent while he taught Calvinism, I stepped away from my volunteer position and my husband and I met with him and the lead pastor privately. Later, I was asked not to discuss the matter with any other pastors and told two elders were assigned to meet with me and answer any questions I might have. Again, I have an appreciation for the role of a pastor and the time restraints they deal with, so I was happy to have the opportunity to have access to people willing to examine the Scriptures with me “to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

On the evening of my first meeting with the elders, I suggested we get to know one another by briefly sharing how and when we came to believe in Jesus, how our faith in him as Lord had impacted our life, and what the circumstances were that brought us to the church where we were worshipping and serving together. Sharing some of our experiences was not only a good way to reflect on what we had in common, it provided a launching point for me to suggest that, just as the three of us shared some, but not all things in common, so we share some, but not all things in common with the chosen and predestined people Paul referred to in Ephesians 1.

With that in mind, we took a quick look at Paul’s change in pronouns throughout the first three chapters of the letter and noted that Paul referred to the chosen and predestined people as having previously hoped in Christ and the Ephesians as those who had no hope (1:12, 2:12). Then we looked at the first two verses of chapter 3, where he wrote about the stewardship of God’s grace given “to me for you.” And finally, we looked at verses 3–5, where he wrote that the mystery of Christ had not been made known to previous generations but had been revealed “to His holy apostles and prophets.”

After recognizing these simple distinctions, one of the men agreed that Paul seemed to be referring to the Israelite apostles and prophets as those who were chosen and predestined to be stewards of the mystery revealed to them, but said he had believed and taught the passage differently for thirty years so he needed some time to think about it. I understood and respected his statement. The other man was not as reflective. Instead, he claimed adamantly that I was wrong. Yet, he didn’t provide an example or any indication as to where I had erred. As a result of that meeting, he and I met a couple more times in person and then corresponded via email for almost two years to discuss texts he believed support TULIP.

During that time, I overlooked his continual outright rejection of most of my claims, even though, rather than offering an exegetical rebuttal, he sometimes resorted to cautioning me no one previously said what I was saying, and telling me “no credible man” agrees with my interpretations. I even managed an uncomfortable smile when, after seeing me walk in the door to a large gathering with mutual friends, he called from across the crowded room asking me if I wanted to talk about predestination (our discussions were supposed to be private, so as not to cause unnecessary conflict or division). And I overlooked the memory of him calling me “one of those” when, years before our discussion began, I asked him about a puzzling comment he made when teaching on Revelation 3:5; one that I later recognized was shaded by Calvinism. But his teaching on 2 Peter 2 during an adult Sunday school class became a turning point.

When class was over, I waited until everyone left before asking him how Peter’s words about people “denying the Master who bought them” fit with TULIP’s ideas about unconditional election and perseverance of the saints. After a brief conversation in which I calmly rejected his platitudes and pat answers, he admitted that at least part of TULIP was “false.” This admission came from the lips of a man who had proudly told me he was a hardline, five-point Calvinist in one of our first discussions; so you might you might think this was a small victory — and it was. By that time, however, the youth pastor had spent 22 weeks teaching TULIP as gospel truth to the high school group, so I asked the elder how he planned to address this inconsistency with the staff and students. His reply stunned me. Though an elder who was to “shepherd the flock” (1 Peter 5:1–2), he told me addressing the error might cause more confusion; so he was going to let it be.

I understand how unrealistic it is to expect someone to stop teaching something they believe is true, so remaining part of that church body during our years of discussion seemed a reasonable thing for me to do. But a church elder acknowledging something is false then refusing to correct the error was abhorrent and convinced my husband it was time for us to find another congregation to serve and worship with. My family and I left that day without explanation.

Later, when the elder asked me to meet with him and the other elder who was part of our original discussion, I hoped he had reconsidered his decision and wanted to tell me in person. Or, maybe he was concerned that my family and I hadn’t been attending church recently and wanted to know why. I would have welcomed either response, so my husband and I agreed to meet them.

After we arrived, however, he didn’t express any concern for the welfare of our family, and it took only a few moments for me to realize he had not changed his mind. Instead, he demanded that I not tell anyone about his admission weeks earlier. His anger and strong insistence that I had tricked him into using the word false startled me and my husband, so I made the mistake of agreeing not to discuss our conversation with other people.

I realize now that my failure to speak up was wrong. The pastor and the elder board might not have believed my account, but that shouldn’t have stopped me from telling them. Not providing them with the opportunity to hear the details and decide how they should handle the situation was my mistake — one I am deeply sorry for. The damaging effects of my silence cannot be reversed, but I pray God will use that experience and this book to clear away the confusion in the lives of the untold millions of people whose understanding of the gospel has been damaged by the teachings of Calvinism.

For now, we have a long way to go in our examination of TULIP. When you’re ready, I hope you’ll join me here where we’ll consider John’s statements about people who were chosen, drawn, and given to Jesus.

You can connect with me on Twitter X, or email me at patti@theflowerfallsoff.com

To read more, return to the homepage or follow one of the links below.

Calvinism’s Errors: A Brief Introduction

The Protestant Reformation: Truth and Error

Calvinism, Illusory Truth, and the Scriptures

The Sovereignty and Will of God

Chosen and Predestined Ephesians 1

Calvinism and the Plain Sense of Pronouns

Redemption, Adoption, and the Seal of the Spirit- Ephesians

Romans 8- Foreknown and Predestined

Romans 8:33- A Charge Against God’s Elect

Romans 9- Love & Hate, Potter & Clay