I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard the charge leveled against the doctrines of grace that goes something like this: "The doctrines of predestination and election destroy all incentive for an upright life and it doesn’t matter how anyone lives since all the elect will be saved anyways." But is this a legitimate complaint against Calvinism or is it simply a gross misrepresentation of the truth? Are there satisfactory answers—that is, internally consistent responses—to this charge? And furthermore, are the accusations substantiated by the manifestation in the lives of those who profess the doctrines of grace?

I would submit to you that this particular objection to the doctrines of grace can be easily answered, and I would strenuously disagree with the conclusion that many arrive at that attempt to argue that it exposes contradictions and poses difficulty to the theological position.

My immediate response to this would be directly from Scripture: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for Iam holy’" (1 Pet 1:14–16). It is oftentimes asked for what reason we are to live righteous lives. Simply put, God commands us to be holy, because He is holy. We are responsible to Him as our Creator, and we are to obey His revealed will. That is, we are commanded to be obedient despite the reality of other great truths.

Paul further makes the same command when he wrote "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love" (Eph 1:4). Here, again, we find our duty to live a life that glorifies God. Even Calvin addressed those who made the same charge by writing, "What a great difference there is between these two things: to cease well-doing because election is sufficient for salvation, and to devote ourselves to the pursuit of good as the appointed goal of election! Away, then, with such sacrileges, for they wickedly invert the whole order of election."

Second, we hold that the ends as well as the means are ordained by God. Predestination is not only concerned with the final outcome, but it necessarily includes the actions in order to ensure the desired results come to fruition. For instance, God decreed that the earth was to be fruitful, but this decree necessarily included the sun, the rain, the nutrients from the earth, and all those who would cultivate the ground. Similarly, the election of some individuals to eternal life with the Lord also includes their election to holiness. As Lorraine Boettner wrote, "It is not the individual as such, but the individual as holy and virtuous, that is predestinated to eternal life."

I would further submit to you another reason we live righteous lives is in order to demonstrate our gratitude to God for what He chose to do out of His grace and mercy. There was nothing inherently good foreseen in us that caused God to elect us unto salvation—only His eternal love for us. Knowing all of this, therefore, should cause us to want to reciprocate as best as we can and obey God and serve Him to the best of our ability. We, above everyone else, have the greatest reason to love and to glorify the Lord God Almighty.

Finally, I believe history itself is one of the best testimonies to the inaccuracy of such statements. I would stake the reputation of one group of godly men and women over against any other that can be named in Christian history—namely, the Puritans. The very word carries with it negative connotations as it has come to signify a rigid morality. The Puritans—and Calvinists of Scotland and France—tenaciously adhered to a strict set of religious faith and morals in spite of their dogged belief in the doctrines of grace. If the charge of wicked living rang true, then these Calvinists should have demonstrated utter corruption and licentious living as proof that it leads to careless living, but the exact opposite is the case. These devout Calvinistic men and women were living proof that the doctrines of grace have transforming power that molds and shapes godly character that produces fruit for centuries to come.

So in summary we continue to wage war against the flesh and put on the new man for four reasons: because the Lord commands it of us; the ends as well as the means are preordained; love and gratitude to our Maker for what He has done for us; and finally, the fruits of Calvinism speak for itself.

Beyond what has already been said so far, consider this: No one knows for certain who belongs to the elect or how far the elect extends. Nevertheless, the Bible provides comfort for Christians in that it outlines the marks of true conversion. One sign that someone is a part of the elect is through the good works he performs. If one is truly saved, then he is a new creature and will reject the ways of the world—that is, he will put off the old self and put on the new one (Col 3:9–10). Living a righteous life is what separates us from the rest of the world. Therefore, any one who justifies his perpetual sinfulness on predestination is not acting in accordance with God’s Word. Those who persist in their sins without repentance are in danger of suffering the eternal consequences. God calls us to be holy and for those who have been regenerated, they will have a desire to do what is right.

Anyone who has been regenerated by the Lord will no longer desire to live contrary to God’s commands. The Holy Spirit will work to sanctify the elect and will grant a new spirit by taking away the stony heart and giving a heart of flesh (Ezek 11:19, 36:26). The Lord remains faithful in that those He calls unto salvation He justifies; and those He justifies He glorifies (Rom. 8:30). When one is glorified, he no longer is at enmity with God. He is a new creature and has a renewed desire to please God. It is contrary to Scripture to suggest that any one who is saved will want to continue living according to the flesh. The mark of true conversion is a changed heart that leads to a change in lifestyle. Anyone who remains a slave to his own sinful desires and revels in them is not walking in accordance with God’s commands. Yes, saved individuals continue to sin because the sin nature is still a present reality. However, a radical transformation takes place when one is saved, and he no longer desires to live according to the flesh.