Chosen Together: How Election Shapes Church Identity (and Martyrs’ Courage)

Many martyrs of the reformed reformation found extraordinary strength in this understanding. Calvin also emphasizes that predestination should affect how the Christian community understands its collective identity. Believers are not merely isolated individuals who happen to believe. They are a body, the church, a people chosen by God. Election is both individual and corporate. We are chosen as members of a body, as parts of a community that is the very body of Christ. This transforms the experience of faith from an isolated journey into a shared and communal experience. Finally, Calvin emphasizes that predestination should lead the Christian community to a life of praise and worship. When we understand that we were chosen by God’s sovereign grace before any action of our own, the appropriate response is praise. Not merely emotional or superficial praise, but praise that permeates all of life that transforms our actions and relationships that makes all of life an act of worship to the God who loved us with an eternal love. The Calvinist doctrine of predestination and unconditional election, although deeply rooted in biblical interpretation, has faced considerable criticism and controversy over the centuries. John Calvin was well aware of these objections and offered sophisticated responses to them. Understanding these criticisms and Calvinist responses is essential for a complete appreciation of reformed theology.