Here is the deal with God's sovereignty. The Bible paints a beautiful picture of the tension between God's sovereignity and man's responsibility. We do not know what God has ordained or who He has chosen. All we know is what we are told about how to receive salvation, to believe in Jesus, the son of God and savior of His people. Predestination is not a killer of free will. In calvinism, everyone gets what he wants. If you desire to be saved and believe in Jesus then you will be saved! That is the side of man's responsibility.
You cannot deny the other side of the coin though. Scripture throughout has always shown how God set His love on a people and redeemed. Was there anything special about Israel that God should have redeemed them from the Egyptians? No, they, like us were just as sinful as those who God did not redeem. In the same way, the story of redemption is present in the new testament, though in perfection.
John 6:37-40 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent ME, that of all that HE has given ME I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
As I stated earlier here is a picture of the tension between God's sovereignity and man's responsibility. All those that the Father gives the Son WILL come to Him. And at the same time He says that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him WILL have eternal life. Our will does not mute or change God's will but rather testifies to His perfect will.
This chapter goes on to say vs 44: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."
Ok so it is the Father who draws those who can come to Christ. And all that the Father draws (has given to the Son vs. 39) will come to Him. So then are all men saved? Obviously not, but the scripture testifies that those whom the Father gives to the Son will be saved.
Eph. 2:1-6 "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working int he sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love whith which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)"
As is said here, we were dead in our sins. Our soul had not the capacity to rightly choose God over the flesh. But while we were still in our sins and dead, He made us alive in Christ. See if anyone truely had free will apart from God's will, then no one would be saved.
I have to go to work so I cannot futher expound the subject. But here are a few scripture references for you to go over in your spare time. Acts 13:48 (make sure you note the order of events in this passage), Eph 1 and 2, Rom. 8:28-39, Rom. 9...there are plenty more that testify to God's sovereign will being excecuted in our lives, but again, I have to go to work.
If God's will doesn't reign, then why do we have say "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" ? (Matt. 6:10).
Calvinism is not based on the doctrine of election, rather it is just an exposition of what the Bible teaches, if that be predestination, then it is predestination, but know that it covers much more than that.
God's sovereignity doesn't make us robots or our salvation any less sweet, rather how much more does it make our salvation sweet! That God should choose a wretch like me I will never understand, but I praise Him all the more for it.
