Reformed Baptist

Jenna's comment badly misrepresents Calvinism. God does not condemn innocent people who “never had a chance.” Scripture says all have sinned and deserve judgment (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). Election is God mercifully saving some from a guilty humanity; not denying anyone justice. Romans 9 answers this exact objection: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy” (v. 15), and, “He has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills” (v. 18). Mercy, by definition, is not something God owes everyone. If it were owed, it would be justice; not mercy. The wonder of Calvinism isn’t that God judges sinners; it’s that He chooses to save any of us at all.

That reading simply does not follow the text. John 6 does not say, “Those who first believe, listen, and learn are then given by the Father to the Son.” Jesus says the opposite order: “All that the Father gives Me WILL COME to Me.” — John 6:37 The giving explains the coming. It is not the reward for coming. And vv. 64–65 make the point even clearer. Jesus identifies those who do not believe and then explains their unbelief: “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.” Not: “They weren’t granted because they refused to believe.” Rather: their inability to come is explained by the necessity of the Father’s granting. John 6:45 does not rescue the argument either: “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” Who actually hears and learns from the Father? The very people who consequently come to Christ. Jesus is describing the Father’s effective teaching, not autonomous sinners qualifying themselves to be given to the Son. And John 12:32 does not overturn John 6. The immediate context includes Greeks seeking Jesus [John 12:20–21], making “draw all” perfectly consistent with Christ drawing people from all peoples, not merely Israel. It cannot mean every individual is drawn in precisely the same sense as John 6:44, because everyone drawn in John 6:44 is raised by Christ on the last day. Universalizing that draw would lead to universal salvation. Ironically, the hardening texts cited actually strengthen the Reformed case. Romans 11 says: “The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened.” — Romans 11:7 That is hardly evidence that fallen sinners first freely listen and learn and are only afterward chosen. So the question still stands: Does John 6:37 say the Father gives people to the Son because they come, or that those whom the Father gives will consequently come? The grammar and the argument of John 6 are remarkably clear: giving precedes and secures coming. And “I wrote a book about it” or “others have made this argument in debates” is not an exegetical rebuttal. Arguments are answered by the text, not by asserting that they have already been answered.