One of the common questions raised when discussing Calvinism with a non-Calvinist is this, "If God is the one who chooses who is to be saved, does He force people to love Him?" The answer to that question is certainly "No." No one would argue that forcing love upon someone is truly love. Asking the question in the first place exposes a lack of understanding in the sovereignty of God, election, salvation, and Calvinism in general because the question assumes that God must be forcing people to love Him if it is He who is choosing salvation for a certain people. Let's examine this topic more closely.

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and {who are} faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed {be} the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly {places} in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:1-4).

The saints spoken of in Ephesians 1-4 were chosen to be holy and blameless since before the foundation of the world. There is no other way to be seen holy and blameless before the eyes of God except through the redemptive work of Christ, right? All Christians know that salvation is purchased by the Son and that all Christians have been saved through Christ in His atonement. There is no exception with how one becomes saved. The Christians in this text have been chosen to receive this atonement since before the world was made. Why would it be any different with any other saint? It isn't any different now than it was in the past. All those who are saved were chosen to be saved by the LORD.

The text continues to read, "In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:4-6).

Ephesians 1:1-6 reveals to us that 1) God chooses who is to be saved, 2) God did the choosing before the foundation of the world, and 3) God chooses out of love.

If all this is true, then how does God save men who naturally hate Him? The answer is, "He saves us through a miracle of regeneration upon the desparately sick and wicked hearts of men and, thus, transforming us into new creatures who freely and willingly love God in return." God saves us in such a way where He is not working against our will. Rather, God transforms our depraved nature into a new nature that has been saved from the bondage of sin. People act according to their nature. Dead people do dead things. Alive people in Christ live for Christ.

In closing, God does not force people to love Him. On the contrary, He merely saves us from our sin through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The beloved ones simply love God in return because they are freely acting according to the new nature they have been freely given.