///Good afternoon, Daktari.
Have been reading about the theological concept of reprobation.
What I am not clearly getting an answer in my mind is: if reprobation is real, doesn't it negate the very God’s grace?///
MY RESPONSE
Thanks XX for reaching out to me.
Reprobation is a doctrine identified with sections of the Reformed Calvinistic tradition. It that teaches that God had determined and predestined before the foundation of the world that a specific number of sinners will be excluded from His saving grace in Christ. This doctrine is anchored on the five point TULIP doctrines embraced by deterministic soteriology groups including Calvinism.
Accordingly therefore, TULIP Calvinism argues that these reprobate people will be denied the "irresistible grace" by which they may believe in Jesus Christ.
This implies that this class of sinners will never come to faith. Instead, Calvinists argue, these reprobates will be consigned to eternal damnation or punishment in hell. They insist that the divine destiny of the reprobates was eternally sealed by God from eternity past. This perhaps underscores their "doomed from the womb" slogan.
Some Calvinists deliberately misread Romans 1:28 and 2 Corinthians 13:5 to imply that some people have been disqualified from the Christian faith! Neither of these texts, when read in their passage contexts, affirms the reprobation doctrine. They merely serve as convenience proof texts that carry no theological weight.
The reprobation doctrine apparently contradicts several texts and passages of Scripture including John 3:16-18, Romans 10:5-13; Acts 2:37-38, 16:30-31. These Scriptures reveal that God seeks to save all sinners without prior distinction or discrimination provided that they repent and submit to God's saving grace in Christ Jesus. Contrary to Calvinism, regeneration cannot precede faith.
John 3:16-18 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (NKJV).
The above text clarifies this truth.
Calvinists also misinterpret Romans 9:10-13 to argue that God chooses from among sinners to save some unconditionally and reject the rest.
Romans 9 is however not about how God deals with sinners in Christ. It concerns God's unconditional election of a people to service. God chose Jacob to be the father of Israel, God's nation-state. This does not suggest or imply that God eternally rejected Esau and his offspring from God's saving grace in Christ.
Calvinistic teachers and their adherents would easily conclude that a stubborn sinner is a reprobate. This is an unfortunate conclusion to make because experience has shown that some obstinate sinners can turn to Christ later in their lives, including on their death beds!
Some people who used to resist the gospel have surrendered to Christ in the final moments of their lives! We cannot therefore consider any sinner a reprobate simply because of their negative response to the gospel at a given time. The opportunity for accessing God's grace remains open until and unless the sinner dies in his or her rebellion.
The reprobation doctrine is drawn from sections of gnostic philosophy embraced by the Augustinian Manichaeism groups. Augustine of Hippo, the North African third century theologian, was influenced by these gnostic groups and this shaped his theological writings.
Martin Luther and John Calvin borrowed heavily from Augustine's works in building their theological reflections.
In conclusion, we can therefore argue within the confines of the revelation of Scripture that God seeks to save all sinners and that His saving grace in Christ Jesus is potentially unlimited. It is available to all sinners who hear the gospel proclaimed and submit to Christ. The sinner must respond to God's grace.
God has ordained the proclamation of the gospel as the primary means by which His saving grace can be accessed by sinners. This is plainly taught in Scripture. One theologian rightly argued that God's grace unapplied saves no one. The offer of God's saving grace in Christ has been open to all sinners in all ages since Calvary.
The sinner's exercise of faith does not suggest or imply that God's sovereignty is diminished in any material sense. If anything, God's sovereignty is affirmed in His bounty grace that flows to us in Christ Jesus.
Any person who rejects the grace of God stands condemned. God's judgement in Revelation 20:11-15 is anchored on this truth.
///Thank you, Daktari, for the response. In my considered opinion, the real biblical tension is not whether God is gracious but how His sovereign mercy and His righteous judgment operate together.///
MY RESPONSE
There is no biblical or theological tension between the two divine attributes, in my view. God's grace and mercy are two divine attributes of God that the Scriptures reveal with compelling clarity. Christ's incarnate coming and His works of redemption at the cross of Calvary demonstrate God's mercy and grace towards sinful humanity.
God's justice is anchored on His holiness and righteousness. He abhors sin and evil and punishes the wicked unless they repent. The two attributes do not intertwine or conflict at all.
The Scriptures are replete with illustrations on God's condemnation of evil and His punishment for the wicked in the exercise of His justice. God's destruction of Noah's generation under the flood described in Genesis 7-8 and His obliteration of the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 are suitable illustrations in this context. Revelation 20:11-15 records the final resurrection and the judgement and condemnation awaiting the wicked and those who reject God's grace. Those whose names will be missing from the Lamb's Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire.
///The Westminster argues that "Election demonstrates God's grace; reprobation demonstrates God's justice. Neither cancels the other."///
MY RESPONSE
The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) is a Reformed Calvinistic statement of faith that captures their doctrinal framework. This articles are informed by their Reformed theology.
The word "election" as applied under the TULIP systematic presupposes the validity of the Total Depravity, Unconditional Election Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of Saints. These doctrines are embraced by Calvinistic groups in varying degrees.
The Total Depravity doctrine teaches that the sinner is so totally depraved in sin to the point that he is unable to respond to God's grace unaided. This doctrine is sometimes described as Total Inability. This is where the irresistible grace doctrine comes into the picture. Calvinists insist that God grants the elect sinner the irresistible grace before they can come to faith. They insist that regeneration must precede faith.
The non-elect or reprobates are denied God's saving grace so that no matter how much the gospel is proclaimed to them they will never come to faith. Sadly, no text or passage of Scripture that affirms this doctrine.
The Unconditional Election doctrine states that God chooses those to save among sinners unconditionally. The sinner's responsibility in responding to God's grace is not contemplated in this context because, according to Calvinism, this would amount to the creature exercising some sovereignty! Some Calvinists argue that only the saviour can choose the sinner and not vice versa.
Scripture however reveals that God's invitation in Christ is open to all sinners without prior distinction or discrimination. A sinner who hears the gospel proclaimed must turn to Christ to receive eternal life (John 3:16-18, Acts 2:37-38, 16:30-31).
The Limited Atonement doctrine holds that God's atonement in Christ Jesus is limited to the elect that God had predestined to save. This implies that any sinner who does not appear in God's list will not be granted the irresistible grace. No text of Scripture teaches or affirms the four doctrines.
Most Evangelical traditions would partly agree with the fourth TULIP systematic. This is to the extent that God would preserve the believer in their journey of faith. Some scholars would however disagree with the view that the believer cannot fall from the faith. There are several illustrations in Scripture that suggest that believers have a responsibility in walking the narrow path that leads to eternal life.
We shall now examine one of the most controversial arguments advanced by Calvinism.
Calvinists insist Ephesians 1:4 implies that God chose some sinners for eternal life before the foundation of the world.
Two theological implications are notable in this context.
First, the election doctrine appears to suggest or imply that the redemption of cross is not the exclusive instrument for the redemption of sinners. Instead, the cross is reduced to a divine rubber-stamp. This is because the election, according to Calvinism, was concluded by God long before Calvary! This presumption is difficult to reconcile with Scripture. It openly contradicts several texts and passages of Scripture that amplify on the centrality of the cross in the redemption of sinners.
Ephesians 1:3-14 when read within its passage context reveals that God's election was conceived by God in eternity past but is exclusively anchored in Christ. The means by which the redemption would be supplied was historically accomplished at Calvary 2000 years ago. The election of believers is in Him (Christ) alone. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of men (John 1:29). The election could never have been accomplished outside Calvary.
Secondly, the Calvinistic doctrine of Election implies that the rest of sinners who were deliberately denied God's saving grace were specifically created for eternal damnation. This is the reason that Calvinism speaks of the revealed and secret will of God in their attempt to defend their faulty systematic. God cannot contradict Himself in the revelation of Scripture. No sinner was ever denied God's saving grace in Christ Jesus. The reprobation doctrine is therefore theologically inadmissible in Scripture.
Calvinists further argue that the sinner's exercise of free will choice for obedience violates God's sovereignty. This argument is intended to dispute the sinner's capacity to make an informed free will choice for obedience which is plainly taught in Scripture. John 3:16-18 plainly contemplates the sinner's responsibility in responding to God's grace. Calvinism cannot discount the revelation of Scripture while purporting to affirm it!
Non Calvinistic scholars therefore disagree with the Calvinistic doctrine of Election because it openly contradicts the fundamental teachings of Scripture and borders on impugning God's character.
///Exodus 4:21 (ESV): And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."///
MY RESPONSE
Pharaoh's fate had been sealed by God because of his evil against the children of Israel. He was under God's righteous judgement and condemnation. Yes, God promised to harden Pharaoh's heart because this served His divine purposes in that context. This does not however suggest or imply that God hardens some sinners so that they reject the gospel! No text of Scripture remotely affirms this claim.
It is instructive to note that Calvinism is conveniently founded on a series of proof texts that do not align with the revelation and authority of Scripture.
///R. C Sproul argues that "
If humanity is fallen and guilty, salvation is mercy. God isn't obligated to extend saving mercy to everyone simply because He extends a genuine gospel invitation to everyone."///
MY RESPONSE
I have heard Calvinists present this lame argument in an attempt to justify their philosophical suppositions. Nothing can be further from the truth!
Yes, salvation is anchored on God's grace and mercy. However, to argue that God is not obligated to extend saving mercy to everyone is a thinly veiled attempt to shore up the unconditional election doctrine.
If God chose to extend His mercy to sinners in Christ, why are Calvinists attempting to limit God's grace in total violation of the revelation of Scripture? What motivates this philosophical argument? Why do Calvinists attempt to justify and celebrate the destruction of sinners in hell? What is their attitude to the preaching of the gospel?
We cannot allow the Scriptures to speak out of silence.
///I still believe somehow that reprobation has a place, however tiny, in theology. But remember, I am arguing more from a pedestrian point of view.///
MY RESPONSE
The reprobation doctrine has no place in Scripture, in my view. It is anchored on an attempt by Calvinism to justify the TULIP systematic. The truth conveyed by Scripture is that God's grace is open to ALL sinners without prior distinction or discrimination.
I trust that my responses are helpful in discounting the Calvinistic doctrines and upholding the truths of God's word.
Shalom
Dr E Kimosop
27/8/2026
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2026
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