God has solved the sin problem, but each of us have to respond to that mercy and grace through repentance and faith.
God did not create robots to inhabit the earth to fellowship with Him. He made man as free moral agents with the ability to make moral choices. God solved the sin problem but we must respond as sinners and repent and turn to Him. This idea that somehow God ‘elects’ His people and that they have no choice in the matter is foreign to the Bible.
The Israelites had to kill the Passover lamb, receive its blood in a vessel, and apply it to the sides and tops of the doorframes of the house. Then they had to close the door, stay inside, and eat the meat of the lamb.
Joshua set before the people the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or the gods of other lands and told them they must ‘choose between the two’. But as for Joshua and his house, they would choose to follow the Lord.
The NT tells a story about a feast that was ready. The guests did not have to worry about anything, but they had to come participate in it. In the same way, the feast prepared for us by Jesus Christ is ready, but we must come as guests, and eat. There is a personal responsibility involved in being a Christian. “In that day you will say…” and there is no doubt that every elect of God will confess “Jesus is Lord” and be saved. Jesus said “But I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me,” and so we will come, we will believe, we will trust. But that does not negate the Biblical obligation that we must individually believe in Christ to be saved.
The water is now available, but the thirsty must come and drink.
Those who were dying because they had been bitten by snakes in the wilderness had to look at the uplifted brazen serpent so that they could be healed. The Philippian jailer had to do one thing: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
What happens if we do not turn to Jesus Christ for salvation? God’s anger will not be turned away from us. In john 3:36 we find a description of those who have never trusted in Jesus Christ: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” If a person does not trust Christ’s atoning sacrifice, he must perpetually atone for his sins. The problem is that our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Salvation is available for all who would come to Him in repentance and faith. We see this truth in verse 2. Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation.
First, in verse 1 Isaiah says “You have comforted me….” Isaiah was saying, “God was angry with me, but now he has comforted me.” Then in verse 2 Isaiah says, “Behold God is my salvation.” My salvation! What an affirmation. In the original language, “behold” means “surprise!” Wonder of wonders! God is my salvation!
Second, in verse 2 Isaiah says, “I will trust…” The Hebrew word is “batach”, which has the meaning of committing oneself to God and thus being secure forever. This is saving faith. It is not enough to have information about the gospel or even to understand it intellectually and agree about the truth of the gospel. Faith is trust. Saving faith is my wholly depending on the Lord.
Third, remember, God sent Isaiah to speak to King Ahaz, who was in serious trouble. The enemy had the strength and the ability to destroy Israel. Although Isaiah gave him the gospel, he refused to trust in God. So in 7:9 the prophet declared, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will nto stand at all.” That is always the truth. If we do not believe in the gospel when it comes to us we will fall That is why Hebrews tells us that “today is the day of salvation.” Implied is do not let it pass you by. Don’t procrastinate!
Fourth, Isaiah said, “I will not be afraid (of anything).” Trust and fear are opposites. Believers are delivered from God’s wrath; thus, their fear of death is gone. A believer therefore says, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” Then comes the glorious shout of jubilation: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Dr. _____,
Before I start, I want to confess that I may not have been as charitable as I ought have been before, in our discussions of these issues. My passion results from a zeal for the truth, but was not intended as disrespect. If you gleaned such from our encounters in the past, I apologize most humbly, and I ask your forgiveness. In that spirit, however, I do want to advance a thesis: perhaps, in your advancing this line of doctrine, it is warranted that my puzzlement should be real, when hearing them expounded in your class. From the pulpit, we are taught the opposite of what you have been teaching. That God’s grace in election is unconditional, and the freedom of man’s will to choose any thing is captive to either sin or righteousness. That God’s grace is extended to sinners who are totally depraved – extensive to their wills, which cannot choose anything but evil. That the atonement is not conditional upon the man who chooses to accept it, but upon the intent of Christ to save those for whom He died. That the drawing of all men to Himself is a work of God, worked upon those men who are regenerated by the Spirit, and come willing, not unwilling, to the cross of Christ, due to the effectual call, worked by the Holy Spirit. That we are not simply perseverers, but preserved BY the power of God – irrespective of the autonomous freedom of our wills in a state of salvation.
I pledge, Dr. _____, that my surprise and consternation, in light of what has been taught in the pulpit, was both warranted and truthfully grounded in a real shock as to the inconsistencies of the two gospels being presented. One which seems to require the exercise of a dead man’s “free will”, to accept the Lordship of a God he neither wants nor can desire – and the repentance of sins which a dead loves, and will not release – and a faith which is inexorably set upon this world; and another that requires the faith and repentance that God freely gives, to be the grounds for an invincible, impregnably mighty fortress of salvation which is decreed, empowered, actively aided, and only possible by the creation of new life by the spirit, prior to any exercise of will in the matter. This sovereign will of God is the only grounds I can see for any salvation of man, at all points, and in all means! This is the grounds for my zeal, and I humbly beg forgiveness if I have been too forward in my denial – but I cannot do otherwise in principle, and I apologize if my practice of that denial was lacking in respect.
My difference is grounded not in a desire to “win”, nor in a desire to be the “doctrine police” or any such thing. It is grounded solely in a very real concern and a zealousness (or jealousy!) for the sovereignty of God’s freedom of will over the lives and wills of men, which surely affects how the gospel is presented, why it is presented, and what the gospel itself is. Surely, by asserting that men are not autonomously free does not deny that men are *responsible*. The crux of the matter is that they ARE responsible – to God – the very God who is the self-existent living standard of justice! That is the answer Paul gives to the objector in Romans 9, and it must be our answer when we seek to discover that answer for ourselves, must it not? The salvation that belongs only to the Lord can have no other ground than in the power of God, the unconstrainedly free will of God which determiens the exercise of that power, and the election of men to salvation from before the foundation of the world, to a salvation bought specifically for those whom He elected before the foundation of the world, secured by the omnipotent, substitutionary atonement of the Son, and the justification of His blood – along with the sanctifying work of the Spirit, keeping us in all righteousness! We cannot have any other grounds for salvation, or assurance of it’s efficacy, can we?
If we try to have the grounds for our assurance be in the power of God over our wills, (which does not allow them to stray back to the old nature we were redeemed from, by the sanctification of the Spirit), then how can we say that God has no, or has chosen not to have, power over our wills in the regeneration unto salvation? Does a dead men choose to rise, or is he raised? The heart of stone which dead men have MUST be changed to a heart of flesh by the sovereign power of God. These dead men’s bones are very dry – and can only be knit together by the one who knit us together in our mother’s womb. This is the central issue, it seems. Can a dead man live, unless he is raised to life? If he is raised, will he not believe in the one who raised him, as surely as dusk follows the dawn? This is the glorious truth of the surety found in the doctrines of God’s grace, founded in the absolute sovereignty of God over all of every one of His creations. It is not a mechanistic, fatalistic system, but a glorious declarative truth – that God is our salvation, and that everything that God does, He does perfectly, precisely, and to His own great and majestic glory and purpose.
I’d like to make it clear – I’m not out for your job. I’m not out for you to step down as a teacher. I don’t desire either, and that, in fact is not even on the radar of my concerns. What I’d truly desire is for you to re-examine the Biblical foundation of what is, clearly, part of the very gospel delivered once and for all to the saints. God’s sovereign decree to the salvation of His elect throughout redemptive history, His active regeneration of their souls to prepare a will dead and unable to respond into a soul both alive and able to respond to the gospel presented by the preaching of the Word; God’s active, gracious gifts of faith and repentance to those very same souls, which, on the basis of all this perfect work by the Holy Triune God, believe savingly. This special series of gifts to God’s chosen is of course on the basis of Christ’s death, atonement, justification, and mediation for those self-same elect souls. To try to apply the atonement to one who is not also mediated for, is foreign to the perfect saving work of Christ. Further, to ground our assurance in the ability of God to *keep* our faith, surely necessitates God’s ability to actively direct our wills, and to move in power within those to whom all these good and gracious gifts are granted. Such a necessity surely negates any concept of an *autonomous* free will – and can only mean that the freedom of our wills is only a freedom within the limits of the nature which we possess! Since God can work all things to the praise of His glory, this is very basis of the creative purpose of God, and should be a thing glorified in, not condemned! When a doctrine of the ability of man to freely will is made central to the discussion, and further, cannot be found in scripture as a quality possessed by the children of men, this leads me to believe that perhaps we are placing more credence in a philosophical presupposition than in the words of holy scripture! It is the doctrine of an autonomous free will that is foreign to the Bible, sir, and I challenge you to frame a rebuttal to Romans 9:16, or John 1:13, which in fact state the opposite in the context of salvation – which is the issue.
While I appreciate that you believe no such perfect balance between the responsibility of man and the Sovereignty of God can be found in Scripture, I would respectfully disagree by pointing out that this is a doctrine which is not something new, can be demonstrated by a veritable mountain of scripture, and is perfectly consistent throughout the entirety of Scripture. A Potter whose hands cannot shape the pots as He wills, but leaves the pots to shape themselves of their own free will is not much of a Potter, is He? If God will accomplish all His good pleasure – and his pleasure is decreed from the end to the beginning – can we truly say that God leaves the salvation of His children to the exercise of their depraved wills, apart from any prior intervention of God’s regenerative, restorative grace on those wills? The will of God is always the cause behind all stages of the Work of Salvation. You may disagree with it – but I cannot say otherwise.
God did not create robots to inhabit the earth to fellowship with Him.
Sir, what doctrinal system claims anything of the sort? I know of no such doctrine from any system that even claims Christendom.
He made man as free moral agents with the ability to make moral choices.
So, from that strawman, the opposite claim is: “He made man as free moral agents with the ability to make moral choices.”
Yes, He MADE man that way – but did man not fall? Additionally, in doing so, did He not show that man cannot be trusted to make moral choices? The statement is true – as far as it goes, but it only goes so far. Now, man is a slave to sin, dead in tresspasses and sins, and has a depraved mind – he cannot subject himself to the law of God by making righteous moral choices – in fact – that mind is “not even able to do so”!
They are free – within the limits of their slavery to sin. No one is anything but contingently free – contingent on their master. I would debate really using “free” in the context of slavery. Such a definition is not the Biblical definition of ‘free’ – only ‘free’ in the context of slavery.
Romans 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
That’s the contrast that Paul makes – and that is the contrast we are thus required to make, from Scripture. There is no autonomous free will apart from a contingency upon a master’s influence over his desires, as Edwards would say.
But, we can expound on this from Scripture clearly.
Proverbs 18:1-2 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh [and] intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind.
Through desire / (a man) having separated / himself, seeks / to meddle (to contend with) / all wisdom.
The desire of man is to separate himself, and he thus seeks to contend with the wisdom of God. To separate himself from? The Righteousness of God. Thus, he isn’t interested in true understanding – but his only interest in his own opinions, which now have primary weight, given his focus on self, as a being separated by himself, to himself – not by God, to Himself.
A man is a slave – and always a slave – but he is also free, and always free – but ONLY to that which his nature belongs. When we are born again to Christ – we are made new – we have a new nature. Not one that is fully free of the flesh – but one that is being sanctified by the Spirit, and bought by the blood of Christ.
Romans 6:22-23 – But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph. 2:3 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.
We were by nature children of wrath.
2 Peter 1:3-4 …seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of {the} divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
We WILL be partakers of the Divine nature, which a child of wrath can never be, unless that nature is changed. We were given everything pertaining to life and Godliness – through the knowledge of He who called us!
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Not free in name only, as you are under sin – free of everything pertaining to life and godliness – but free of the slavery of sin, and slaves to righteousness of God, in which the only true freedom can be found.
John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The NT tells a story about a feast that was ready. The guests did not have to worry about anything, but they had to come participate in it. In the same way, the feast prepared for us by Jesus Christ is ready, but we must come as guests, and eat. There is a personal responsibility involved in being a Christian. “In that day you will say…” and there is no doubt that every elect of God will confess “Jesus is Lord” and be saved. Jesus said “But I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me,” and so we will come, we will believe, we will trust. But that does not negate the Biblical obligation that we must individually believe in Christ to be saved.
The water is now available, but the thirsty must come and drink.
Those who were dying because they had been bitten by snakes in the wilderness had to look at the uplifted brazen serpent so that they could be healed. The Philippian jailer had to do one thing: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
What happens if we do not turn to Jesus Christ for salvation? God’s anger will not be turned away from us. In john 3:36 we find a description of those who have never trusted in Jesus Christ: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” If a person does not trust Christ’s atoning sacrifice, he must perpetually atone for his sins. The problem is that our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Salvation is available for all who would come to Him in repentance and faith. We see this truth in verse 2. Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation.
Do you see what this argument depends on? OUR faith and repentance – the “doing” of the “exercise” of these things. Just as in James, the outworking of the Spirit causes in us the inevitable outworking of the gifts He grants to us – which were given to us for the *purpose* of these good works.
Eph: 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Sir, have you never seen the scriptures that say BOTH OF THOSE (faith and repentance) are gifts of God? Say whatever we will, that’s the killer for this argument, if we can demonstrate it from Scripture.
God has solved the sin problem, but each of us have to respond (The Father draws you to Himself) to that mercy (God’s) and grace (God’s) through repentance (God’s) and faith (God’s).
As used, this definition of faith and repentance is unbiblical, the Biblical nature of this definition of “free” will contradicts Scripture, and any election which is not the foreordained Sovereign choice of a free and omnipotent creator is no election, but subservience to the free and omnipotent will of man.
On Faith:
The Hebrew “batach” as “place one’s OWN trust in” as the definition of saving faith – clearly raises the question of the origin of the faith and repentance. As I’ve stated already, that origin is very obvious from scripture – as is our inevitable duty and priviledge to exercise those gifts for their intended purpose.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isn’t that incredible? The same verse we use to *define* faith is the immediate preceding context for the statement as to the origin of faith. What is our surety of this faith? The One who grants it is the One seated at the right hand of the Father and interceding on our behalf, as the One who bought us with a price.
Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Phil. 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Not only does Scripture testify to the provenance of our faith, but the historic confessions of Baptists also testify to their understanding of it.
1689 London Baptist Confession (and 1742 Philadelphia Confession)
Chapter 14: Of Saving Faith
1. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word; by which also, and by the administration of baptism and the Lord’s supper, prayer, and other means appointed of God, it is increased and strengthened. (2 Corinthians 4:13; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 10:14, 17; Luke 17:5; 1 Peter 2:2; Acts 20:32)
2. By this faith a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word for the authority of God himself, and also apprehendeth an excellency therein above all other writings and all things in the world, as it bears forth the glory of God in his attributes, the excellency of Christ in his nature and offices, and the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit in his workings and operations: and so is enabled to cast his soul upon the truth thus believed; and also acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come; but the principal acts of saving faith have immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace. (Acts 24:14; Psalms 27:7-10; Psalms 119:72; 2 Timothy 1:12; John 14:14; Isaiah 66:2; Hebrews 11:13; John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Galatians 2:20; Acts 15:11)
John Owen masterfully testifies to this reality as well.
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ – Book II, Chapter 5, Pgs. 234-235
Thirdly, This condition of faith is procured for us by the death of Christ, or it is not. If they say it be not, then the chiefest grace, and without which redemption itself (express it how you please) is of no value, doth not depend on the grace of Christ as the meritorious procuring cause thereof; — which, first, is exceedingly injurious to our blessed Saviour, and serves only to diminish the honour and love due to him; secondly, is contrary to Scripture: Tit. iii. 5, 6; 2 Cor. v. 21, “He became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” And how we can become the righteousness of God but by believing, I know not. Yea, expressly saith the apostle, “It is given to us for Christ’s sake, on the behalf of Christ, to believe in him,” Phil. i. 29; “God blessing us with all spiritual blessing in him,” Eph. i. 3, whereof surely faith is not the least. If it be a fruit of the death of Christ, why is it not bestowed on all, since he died for all, especially since the whole impetration of redemption is altogether unprofitable without it?
In one particular they agree well enough, — namely, in denying that faith is procured or merited for us by the death of Christ. So far they are all of them constant to their own principles, for once to grant it would overturn the whole fabric of universal redemption; but, in assigning the cause of faith they go asunder again.
So does Spurgeon testify:
Nay, the doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works, lifted up; for he always thinks faith is a work of the creature and a condition of his acceptance. It is as false to say that man is saved by faith as a work, as that he is saved by the deeds of the law. We are saved by faith as the gift of God, and as the first token of his eternal favor to us; but it is not faith as our work that saves, otherwise we are saved by works, and not by grace at all.
If you need any argument upon this point, I refer you to our great apostle Paul, who so constantly combats the idea that works and grace can ever be united together, for he argues, “If it be of grace, then it is no more of works otherwise grace were no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more of grace, otherwise work is no more work.”
On Repentance:
Acts 5:31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
2 Tim. 2:25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
1689 London Baptist Confession (and 1742 Philadelphia Confession)
Chapter 15: Of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation
1. Such of the elect as are converted at riper years, having sometime lived in the state of nature, and therein served divers lusts and pleasures, God in their effectual calling giveth them repentance unto life. (Titus 3:2-5)
2. Whereas there is none that doth good and sinneth not, and the best of men may, through the power and deceitfulness of their corruption dwelling in them, with the prevalency of temptation, fall into great sins and provocations; God hath, in the covenant of grace, mercifully provided that believers so sinning and falling be renewed through repentance unto salvation. (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Luke 22:31,32)
3. This saving repentance is an evangelical grace, whereby a person, being by the Holy Spirit made sensible of the manifold evils of his sin, doth, by faith in Christ, humble himself for it with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrency, praying for pardon and strength of grace, with a purpose and endeavour, by supplies of the Spirit, to walk before God unto all well-pleasing in all things. (Zechariah 12:10; Acts 11:18; Ezekiel 36:31; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Psalms 119:6; Psalms 119:12 8)
1858 Abstract of Principles Articles 8, 9, & 10
VIII. REGENERATION
Regeneration is a change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who quickeneth the dead in trespasses and sins enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the Word of God, and renewing their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.
IX. REPENTANCE
Repentance is an evangelical grace, wherein a person being, by the Holy Spirit, made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, humbleth himself for it, with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrence, with a purpose and endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things.
X. FAITH
Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority of whatsoever is revealed in His Word concerning Christ; accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. It is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and is accompanied by all other saving graces, and leads to a life of holiness.
There is a solution to the dilemma some consider insoluble: The Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. It is not new, nor is it novel – in fact, it is not complicated.
Augustine perhaps stated it first. (Confessions, X, 29)
“Give what you command, and command what you will. You impose continency on us.”
It’s a truly simple concept. What is commanded is also given. What is given, is also commanded. How is God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility reconciled? In the grace of God, of course.
The Israelites had to kill the Passover lamb, receive its blood in a vessel, and apply it to the sides and tops of the doorframes of the house. Then they had to close the door, stay inside, and eat the meat of the lamb.
How can this be said to be analogous to saving faith?
Israel, when they come to the red sea, immediately complain that Moses has brought them there to kill them all. What was Moses’ response? “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”
Second – did not God harden the hearts of the Pharoah, and the Egyptians (is that free will?), and did not the Egyptians hate the Israelites and want them to leave, out of fear? They had no choice but to obey. The Israelites had no more place among the Egyptians. God burned their bridges behind them.
Third – God gave the commands, the means, and the escape – from the Angel of Death, and the Egyptian army. God provided exactly what He commanded. How is this any difference than faith and repentance being both commanded by God, and granted by God? It’s the Sovereign decree which results in His glory being both radiated from and reflected back to Himself.
Of Election:
This idea that somehow God ‘elects’ His people and that they have no choice in the matter is foreign to the Bible.
Sir, election is personal, predestined, particular, and perfect. It is presented in many ways, it is outlined in many places, and it is God’s sovereign freedom that determines it. Our choice is not only completely irrelevant, but completely immaterial.
God’s decree of election takes place before the foundation of the world. It is a personal decree, a loving decree, and a particular decree. It depends on no will of man – no choice – but on the will of God – HIS choice. It depends on nothing man can, or will do, or has done. It rests solely in His divine pleasure. Not only is it anything BUT foreign to the Bible that election rests in no choice of man, but election by the choice of man is anathema to the gospel, and to Scripture itself, directly contrary to your claim.
Once again: John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
God’s purpose is the purpose which matters in His election. His purposes, His decrees, are what declared the (Omega) End from the (Alpha) Beginning and which accomplish all His good pleasure!
Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
Romans 9:11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls)
Ephesians 1:3-6 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. 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.
Ephesians 2:1 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 in the 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 with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
1 Thess. 1:4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, [His] choice of you;
Romans 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice.
Romans 11:7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
Romans 11:28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of [God’s] choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
Acts 15:7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.
Isaiah 29;16 You turn {things} around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to {the one} who quarrels with his Maker– An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making {say,} ‘He has no hands’?
isaiah 64:6-8 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.
Romans 9:11-24 for though {the twins} were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to {His} choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.” What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it {does} not {depend} on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And {He did so} to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, {even} us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
“Isaiah said ‘I will not be afraid’ – Trust and fear are opposites.”
Yes – and God has not GIVEN you a spirit of fear – but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND
2 Tim. 1:7-10 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with [me] in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity who has saved us AND called us!
Soli Deo Gloria. To God ALONE be the glory. In all things.
Dr, _____, You know who I am, and what I was. I’m a walking, talking example of the power, Biblical orthodoxy, and experiential efficacy of the Doctrines of Grace. Only a God sovereign over the will of man could, or would have dragged me out of my sin by a methodical destruction of all of my props, pretensions, deceits, sins, and wickedness. A God who draws all men to Himself has no trouble with recreating a will suited to serve Him, and employing His mercy to save a man such as me. I tell you – it was none of me – I was unwilling, I was unable, I was without power or hope in this world. He saved me, He dragged me out of the miry clay and He remade me to serve Him.
There is no power that can resist His call and power. None. It is to His praise, His glory, and to the jealous desire for His glory above all doctrines, theories, and constructions of man that I write this rebuttal. It is a zealousness for the glory of the God who justifies, the God who calls, the God who foreknows His elect, and is mighty to save those He chose before the foundation of the world. Truly, John tells us: We “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Amen, and amen.
Dr. _____ – I love you, I care for you, and I want you to know that I in no way am motivated by any desire to “win an argument”, or to pugnaciously “demean” your abilities as a teacher, which I respect. I’m motivated by a call to defend the gospel of Christ, and by no other reason whatsoever. I consider the Doctrines of Grace the very Gospel – and Calvinism is merely the unfortunate nickname of men for the Biblical theology of God’s Sovereignty in salvation. I am forced to contradict what you are teaching by Scripture and by that “pattern of sound words” which we are commanded to maintain, and to defend. I’m an apologist at heart – and the task of the apologist is to defend the gospel of Christ, and I am more and more convinced that my purpose in Christ is to be “appointed for the defense of the Gospel.” Thus, I am offering this scriptural rebuttal in the spirit of reconciliation, and I am anxious that I do not appear puffed up by means of “superior knowledge”. I have nothing I have not received – and “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
Humbly yours in Christ,
Joshua.
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