A Priori Sovereign Grace

When discussing the doctrines of grace, also called the Five Points of Calvinism, I am often told that the Calvinist soteriology depends on a few isolated prooftexts taken out of context. I am always flabbergasted by that assertion, because each of the doctrines is seen all over Scripture. Rather, I see it as a problem of the Arminian's deliberate overlooking these doctrines, because they are inconsistent with his theological presuppositions.

Let's look at one of the verses that never comes up in those discussions, II Thessalonians 2:13: "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."

Here we see Paul's addressing the brothers explicitly, not mankind in general. We would have known that anyway, because the entire epistle is written to Christians (II Thess. 1:1). However, Paul reinforces that introduction with a second address to believers here. He tells these believers that God chose them, not that they chose God. For what were they chosen? Three things: to be the firstfruits of those who would be saved, to be sanctified, and to believe in the truth. Contrary to the commonly stated assertion of the Arminians, these believers were not chosen because of those things, but unto them. This precludes the possibility of the reactive predestination that Arminians often claim, that God predestines those whom He knows would believe.

That there are such plain statements of the sovereignty of God's grace is clear proof that free-will theology is imposed on Scripture, not derived from it.