What do Calvinists Believe?

I have heard the statement that Calvinists believe that God loves the elect and hates the non-elect. The trouble with this statement is that it is not true. This is a misrepresentation; Calvinists do not believe that. 

One of the problems is that if we have the understanding that God loves everybody with the same kind of love because the Bible says 'God is Love', then no wonder some people will come to that conclusion that Calvinism believes God loves the elect and hates the non-elect.

There is no argument that God is love. The Bible makes it very clear that God is love, and Calvinism does not teach any different, but they recognize (rightly so)that the Bible teaches that God has different kinds of love; one for the elect and another kind of love for the non-elect. If we interpret 'God is love' to mean that God loves everybody with the same kind of love, then you will find it difficult to explain the clear scriptures that teach on the different kinds of love God has.

If you would like to, please read a previous blog post I did on the different kinds of love, with scripture showing God's love for the believer (elect) and God's love for the unbeliever (non-elect).

Think about this for a moment.  Let me give you an example about different types of love that the Bible teaches that we should have. You and I have different kinds of love. I love God with a love I do not love anybody else with, and the same with every believer. Every believer loves God as God, and we do not love anybody else as God, and we should never love anybody else as God! (Matthew 22:37-38) That type of love is for God alone. I have a love for my wife, but I do not love anybody else as my wife; that type of love is for my wife alone (Eph. 5:25). I have a love for lost as the lost (Matthew 5:43-44 and Mark 16:15), and I another type of love for my brothers and sisters in the Lord (John 13:34-35), and you will have different kinds of love too.

The same with God. The Bible makes it very clear that God has different kinds of love. This is what Calvinist believe. They will say that God has a kind of love for His elect, and another kind of love for the non-elect. One example would be in the prayer of Jesus in John 17, when Jesus prayed specifically for the elect and not for the non-elect. In v. 9, Jesus prayed for the disciples, "I pray for them: I pray not for  the world, but for them which thou hast given me: for they are thine." Then later on in the prayer, Jesus prays for all those who will believe in Him in v. 20. Jesus prayed, "Neither I pray for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." It is very clear in this prayer that Jesus is loving His elect in a way He is not loving the non-elect. This is seen with Peter who denied Jesus, Jesus prayed for him, but Jesus did not pray for Judas when he betrayed Him. Peter went to heaven, and Judas went to hell.


So to say that Calvinist believe that God hates the non-elect with no kind of love towards them would be incorrect because they will teach God does have a kind of love towards the non-elect.  Not the love that the Father has for His own children (Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 12:6-8; John 17:9, 20, 23; Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:6-7 and other scriptures (Calvinists will include John 3:16), but yet loves them with a different kind of love. God gives those who reject Him air to breathe, food to eat, and receive many blessings from the Lord, even though they do not thank Him for them, but reject Him (Matthew 5:45; Luke 6:35 and other scriptures).