2nd Timothy 2:10
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. 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.
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer, comments: “The fact that someone is elect does not mean that they are yet saved. Though redeemed at Calvary, they have to come to the point of personal faith in Christ. That is why Paul said, ‘For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory’ (2 Tim. 2:10). So we endure for the sake of the elect.” (The Doctrines that Divide, p.217)
So these were redeemed before they were born, but only saved upon belief? How is a redeemed person not already saved? Of course, it gets a lot worse for Calvinism, because it also maintains that such Elect must first be Born Again “in Christ” in order to access Irresistible Grace in order to overcome Total Depravity so as to believe and become saved, and yet we can also ask, how is a person who is 1) redeemed, 2) Born Again and 3) In Christ not simultaneously saved? This is something that Calvinists do not seem to have provided a clear answer for.
John Calvin comments: “When Paul says that he endures everything for the sake of the elect, he reveals how much more important the edification of the church is for him than his own safety. For Paul is not only prepared to die but even to be known as a criminal in order to promote the welfare of the church.” (1 & 2 Timothy & Titus: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, pp.134-135, emphasis mine)
But Calvin believes that there are Calvinisticly Elect people who are not yet in the Church. Arminians, on the other hand, believe that the Elect is exclusively Christ Himself, and believers by extension, through the Holy Spirit when He seals and identifies believers with Him.
Calvinist, William MacDonald, writes: “We do not know who the elect are, and so we should carry the gospel to all the world.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary, p.2024, emphasis mine)
Of course, Arminians believe that they know who the Elect are. Either it references the Jewish people as the Chosen Race through Abraham, or in the New Testament setting, it can reference Christ Himself who is the Elect One, and the Body of Christ, that is, Christians who are enjoined to Him. The Calvinist inference, on the other hand, is that it references a secret society of pre-selected people for salvation.
MacDonald writes: “Because of the irresistible nature of the gospel, Paul was willing to endure all things for the sake of the elect. The elect here refers to all those chosen by God for eternal salvation. While the Bible does teach that God chooses people to be saved, it nowhere says that He selects some to be damned. Those who are saved are saved by the sovereign grace of God. Those who are lost are lost by their own deliberate choice.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary, p.2116, emphasis mine)
What should be added is that Calvinists believe that it “all those [secretly] chosen.”
MacDonald adds: “No one should quarrel with God over the doctrine of election. This doctrine simply allows God to be God, the Sovereign of the universe, who deals in grace, justice, righteousness, and love. He never does anything unfair or unkind, but He often shows favor that is completely unmerited.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary, p.2116, emphasis mine)
In other words, God cannot be sovereign if He does not pre-select who He really wants to be saved, and by giving them Irresistible Grace at a foreappointed time, which of course, is a self-defeating argument.
If God is truly Sovereign, then He is not bound by Calvinistic Providence. In other words, if God felt that He received more glory and joy from the familial relationships of independently minded creatures, in spite of the less desirous side of what comes from such freedom, rather than from simply scripting characters, who have no independent thoughts from eternity to eternity, then it is part of God’s sovereign freedom to choose whichever model of Providence that He wishes, whether Calvinist or Arminian. But to say that God is only sovereign if He is restricted to one option, certainly does seem to be self-defeating.
The King James Version reads: “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (2nd Timothy 2:8-10) So you can see that the context not only lacks support for the Calvinisticly inferred definition, but also offers a completely different meaning, which shouldn’t be surprising since the phrase “the elect” can reference a number of things, that is, the Jews (Isaiah 45:4), Jesus (1st Peter 2:6), Angels (1st Timothy 5:21) and Christians. (Romans 8:1, 33) Here it seems to reference the chosen people, the Jews, so that “they also,” besides the Gentiles, also become saved.
The context of 2nd Timothy 2:8 speaks of the Jews as “the seed of David” who tracked down Paul from city to city, hindering the preaching of the Gospel, and incited the crowds against him, such that he suffered the “hardship” of “imprisonment as a criminal” on several occasions, because of the Jews. Paul writes: “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost.” (1st Thessalonians 2:14-16) If you trace this to 2nd Timothy 2:8-10, it should be clear as to who Paul intends to convey when he states: “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.”
Paul’s ministry was to the Gentiles because the Jews had largely rejected Christ: “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 13:46) Yet, despite all of their persecutions against him, Paul’s desire was that they “may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus.” (2nd Timothy 2:10) This is because Paul still dearly loved his Jewish brothers, so much so, that he made this statement: “My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed – cut off from Christ! – if that would save them.” (Romans 9:2-4, NLT) Paul was willing to be forever cursed, if that would satisfy God’s justice and save his Jewish brothers. That shows just how much Paul truly loved his Jewish brothers who knew not what they were doing. Paul’s endurance of his mischievous Jewish brothers stems from his sincere love for them, and his enduring hope that they may also come to know Christ as Savior. That’s what Paul was referring to at 2nd Timothy 2:8-10.
Paul stated: “We endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.” (1st Corinthians 9:12) Paul was willing to be all things to all people so that some might be saved. The paraphrased New Living Translation paraphrases: “I have become a servant of everyone so that I can bring them to Christ. When I am with the Jews, I become one of them so that I can bring them to Christ. When I am with those who follow the Jewish laws, I do the same, even though I am not subject to the law, so that I can bring them to Christ. When I am with the Gentiles who do not have the Jewish law, I fit in with them as much as I can. In this way, I gain their confidence and bring them to Christ. But I do not discard the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are oppressed, I share their oppression so that I might bring them to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ. I do all this to spread the Good News, and in doing so I enjoy its blessings.” (1st Corinthians 9:19-23, NLT) Jesus said: “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” (Matthew 5:41) Paul went that extra mile, that Jesus spoke of, both with the Jews and Gentiles, for the sake of their salvation.
Question: Who are “the elect” referenced by Paul at 2nd Timothy 2:10 for whom he suffers and endures much that they may too obtain salvation in Christ?
Answer: The Jews, and the key is both the context, and the words, “they also,” insomuch that Paul is an apostle to the Gentiles, but that he is also concerned for the salvation of the Jews, from whom he had suffered much. (Matthew 24:22) Paul is not speaking of the elect in terms of Christians (Romans 8:33), but of the Jews, who are referred to as an elect people, or the Chosen People, so that they might also obtain the salvation that the Gentiles were experiencing. Given that the Jews and Gentiles were differentiated by the terms “circumcised” and “uncircumcised” (Galatians 2:7, 9), Paul could just as easily have said: “I endure all things for the sake of [the circumcised], so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
Question: Who are the “chosen” and what is the implication of “they also”?
Answer: Calvinists believe that it references an eternal flock of the Father, predetermined and preordained for salvation, called “The Elect.”
Consider the verses which speak of Israel as the elect:
Deuteronomy 7:6: “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.”
Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Isaiah 45:4: “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”
Isaiah 65:9: “And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.”
Isaiah 65:22: “They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”
The Jews, the seed of David, are also referred to as the “elect,” mentioned twice in the Gospels:
Matthew 24:24: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”
Luke 18:7: “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?”
These both reference the Jews, as the context suggests, and because the listeners would have also understood it this way.
Question: What would be the point of Paul saying that he “endures all things” for the sake of those who are irresistibly “made willing”? How would Paul’s evangelistic efforts facilitate the monergistic work of God in salvation?
Answer: The Calvinist explanation is that Paul’s endurance is “the means” by which Calvinism’s “elect” experience the salvation from their Irresistible Grace. In other words, if Paul waits them out, and if they receive an Irresistible Grace, then they will come around eventually. Never underestimate a Calvinist’s ability to make sense of non-sense. Can you stop an Irresistible Grace? Can you make an Irresistible Grace come to pass? Then, by the Calvinist model, what do your actions accomplish? The Calvinist answer is that it is “the means,” as if that really provided any form of clarification. That is simply a “hand-waiving” response.
