Except what you do not understand or ignore is, Calvinism does not harmonize with the Gospel.
That is likely why most Christians who read of it being defended when it is converse to the Gospel are like, Whaaa? And when they hope to reach those who are being misled as Calvinists they are met with a stern sometimes rude offense so as to arrive at the decision, if it be God's will His Word will overcome.
God is Sovereign.
God is Omniscient. Of course.
God is Omnipresent. Yes, without exception.
God is Omnipotent. Yes, as He is God.
God is Omni-Genesis, the eternal source for all that exists, yes, that's the "job" description of God.
However, God is also wilful. And what can be overlooked is that God's will isn't a singular thing. In scripture it is triune, in a manner of speaking. 1Decretive, efficacious, will.
*of something inanimate or abstract) successful in producing a desired or intended result; effective. Will that brings about whatever God decrees. 2. Dispositional will, that which is pleasing to God. 3. Preceptive will, the will exercised that intends order, rules, and or regulates behavior. (Preceptive defined basically) An example being the ten commandments.
1.) The Book of 1st Timothy chapter 2 verses 1 thru 6 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
2.) The Book of Romans chapter 12 verses 1-3
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
3.)
The Book of John chapter 1 verse 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
If all the world's events was pre-decided, all people's destiny preplanned by God, why would God inspire His word to all people? That they may learn and be moved toward His truth. Why does there exist scripture that informs us we have a
choice. And those words that tell us to choose wisely.
Even when a passage tells us of God's will and in such a way as to say, God chose us in Him before the world was created, and His instruction tells us how to behave and comport ourselves that we be blameless, holy, before him.
What gets twisted and those ideologies that are then inserted into the words of God so as to comport with someone's ideology is , as example, when we are told God predestined those who are faithful in Christ for adoption as sons and daughters through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is Omniscient and His will exercises itself in the triune manner as described above, and being human who can truly encapsulate the mind of God using such terms as would hope to explain His powers? And yet, we try. We think because the Bible says this and that about God that that is what there is and all there is. But that's not true. God's thoughts are not as ours, thank God.
Just because the scripture tells us God predestined those who would come to Him, He who was the Son, does not mean God made me to come to Him, my neighbor not to, the neighbor across the field to turn from God, etc... What the scripture tells us , in the scope of Omniscience, is God opened His grace to the world that all might be saved. And doing this He sacrificed Himself for the world's sins.
In that manner God predestined those who would be saved because God began that process with the irrevocable gift of His grace to the world. And then He begat Jesus, Yeshua, upon Mary that she bear the Savior of all people, specially those that believe, to life.
God did this so as to save the world. God preplanned Salvation for the world. All those verses that say He predetermined whom would come to Salvation aren't saying He played a celestial game like unto Duck-Duck-Go. You go to Heaven, nope you go into damnation, you go to Heaven, and so forth.
It means God's Omniscience and Omnipotence are part of His Saving Grace that He delivered to the world. And all that pertains to Salvation is part of His plan to save the worlds people from their sins. He planned that. That whosoever believeth in that, in Jesus, the Savior, the Message of that plan, shall not perish! But shall have immortal life.
God predetermined who would be saved means God's Salvation plan was to save the world's people from their sins. He graced this world with the gift of Salvation for all those for whom it would come to resonate as truth, and be saved.
The predetermination was the plan, the process, and the result of that plan coming to fruition when people would choose Christ because God's salvation resonates within them, because the message awakens the Godly spark within them, that which is within all God made of Himself.
The Beginning
(
Genesis 1:1-2)
John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
It wasn't to say God predetermined whom He would save and whom He would damn and in the end we'll all find out which one we are. Even if we only now think we have faith ourselves, it doesn't matter until we learn what God pre-determined and for whom, by name.
That's a really long response, rebuttal, however, I am weary of that argument that makes out that a doctrine such as was invented by Calvin interpolating scriptures to fit his ideal deity is sacrosanct. I realize the devout will not be moved to change. Perhaps it is a a feeling of assurance that they are what John imagined to define as his version of Elect. Perhaps it is fear of Hell should one deviate from what they've been taught or held as true for so long.
However, God gave us intellect that we may be thoughtful and discretionary and conscious as His creation. And I will not accept a fabricated deity such as that which John imagined to exist and call sacred, when what John describes as that which he believed did exist is that which one would pray salvation from!
A god that creates a race, the human race, in his image and likeness after he predetermines their fall from his grace so as to premeditate those he alone would save by his works, not their conscious awakening to His Spirit, so as to bring some home to him and send those others straight to the Hell he created to receive for his adversary and his angels and then opened to receive his chosen men and women as well.
No. That type of demigod is that which the world needs saving from.
And by God, that is the purpose, inspiration, and scope of this thread.
THINK!
And you
won't let yourself be led to be a Calvinist!
Yes, that's a bit of passion there. But you know what? So to was Jesus' death on the cross.
Hallelujah! Thank you Father! Thank you for thinking us worthy. Amen.
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