Part Seven

"Certainly, the command to repent is a holy command and indeed the Bible does say that we are held accountable if we do not repent.  The problem with Calvinism is that it has God actually ordaining that someone does not come.  They are prevented from accepting the 'offer' of salvation because God does not give them the gift of faith to be able to.  If that is true, it seems difficult for me to see how the non-elect sinner can be held accountable for not repenting.  I have always found that the Bible goes beyond logic and reason, but never against it."

My Response: It is the Word of Holy Writ that our Lord commands obedience, yet at the same time knows that the person will not obey. Furthermore, He reveals that He is just in hardening the heart of the one who is commanded to obey, so that he will not obey. That person is guilty of disobedience and is condemned just the same. A prime example of this is found in Romans 9 in the person of Pharaoh. Paul is teaching some difficult spiritual truths in this chapter. They are so difficult that he is accused by others, similar to your accusations, of preaching and worshipping an unjust, cruel God. Allow me to explain:

In verse 17, Paul quotes the Old Testament to prove the Lord's rights as Potter over His creation. Pharaoh had an important purpose in God's plan. He was placed in that unique position as Pharaoh for the purpose of being made an example before the whole world. Despite the great power and authority of Pharaoh, it is nothing when compared to the power and authority of the Lord. Despite the outrageous miracles and signs performed before the Egyptian people, Pharaoh would not repent. The Lord intentionally hardened his heart first, before Pharaoh made any 'free-will' choice to obey Moses or not. The Lord even revealed to Moses that he would not allow Pharaoh to obey, yet Moses was still obligated to preach the message to 'let my people go,’ (Exodus 3:19; 4:21).

To the natural mind, this scenario seems unfair, unjust, unrighteous. Yet the Lord spoke these words which can be nothing but holy, good and righteous.

If you will notice in Romans 9, Paul is defending his salvation theology against the naysayers who are quite hostile to him. His opponents accuse him of heresy, (verse 19). In their natural minds, it is unfair and illogical for God to find fault, condemning those whom he has hardened, showing no mercy in not extending saving grace. Paul's response rebukes the naysayers for daring to judge the Most High God according to their feeble, sinful standards, (verse 20). It is the supreme right of the sovereign God to do as He pleases in determining the destiny of His creatures. If His Word declares those guilty whom He has not willed to save, then we, as believers, have no right to question His Word or works. The Lord is above reproach, his ways inscrutable, but always holy, wise and righteous.

So you see, Paul - centuries before Augustine and Calvin - taught double predestination! Even in the 1st century there were many opponents who thought this doctrine evil and not worthy of the true God. Although I do not understand His ways which are higher than my ways, I believe and accept that He has the right to dispose of His creation as it pleases Him. He can do a much better job of it than I. In fact, he can do a much better job of predestinating my life from birth to re-birth and on to glorification than I. My prayer asks that His will, not my will, be done.

There is much literature written to explain Romans 9. I encourage you to study several sources. The Reformers taught it correctly!

"Why do we preach ‘repent or perish’ when the non-elect can’t repent and the elect can’t perish?"

My Response: First, we need understand that the reprobate can't repent because they will not repent. This is their own fault, not the sin of God. They are not given the gift of repentance as are the Elect. God is not unjust in giving this gift to some and not all because the grace of repentance is not owed anyone. This gift of God is given to whom He wills for reasons known only to Himself. Man is responsible to repent and believe the Gospel, though left to his own devices he cannot because he will not.

    Second, we do not know who are the Elect and who are the Reprobate, generally speaking, so we are commanded to preach the Gospel in all the world to every creature. God is not unjust in this command, nor are we unjust in telling others the way of salvation.

    Third, who are we to question the validity of His revealed will for us? When He says, 'Go,' it is our duty to 'go.'

"How can God hold the non-elect responsible for ‘not believing’ and damn them for it, when He deliberately did not give them the faith to enable them to believe?"

My Response: Please remember that sinful, fallen man does not love the Lord. The human race is not clamoring to learn of the true God so that they may lose their sinful lives (which they love) in order to follow Christ in holiness and truth. Unregenerate man loathes the Lord, the true Christ. So the scenario whereby God is depicted as a Despot laughing at the millions who plead for forgiveness of sins, yet are capriciously denied it is quite false. The true scenario is one that tells of the undeserved grace of God: that while men were Christ's enemies, He died for them, as their substitute that they might avoid the penalty of eternal punishment. (Romans 5:6-10). Paul is talking to the Roman church. Thus, when he uses the word, us, in verse 8, (Christ died for us) he is speaking of the believers in that church. Every Elect believer, worldwide, in every generation, was once the enemy of Christ. Yet this did not stop the gracious love of God in Jesus Christ.

    Salvation is by grace, grace is the free gift of God, owed to no one. The Lord would have remained holy and righteous had He not sent Christ to save one person. We cannot blame Him of injustice in withholding that which no one deserves.

    Men are responsible for believing because they exercise 'faith' every day. When you go to bed at night you have the faith you will wake up the next morning. When you drive to school you have the faith you will arrive safely. When you find that special girl you marry her because you have the faith the two of you will be quite happy together. When you dine on Shepherd's Pie at your favorite restaurant you have the faith that you will not be poisoned. Currency is based on faith. Atheists have faith. They believe there is no God. Agnostics have faith. They believe there may be a God but it is unprovable one way or the other. So the exercise of faith is not unreasonable in man, who is the most intelligent and wise of God's creatures, except the angels.

    Again, the fault lies with man, who exercises faith everyday. He uses his intelligence to plan his life one day to the next, making decisions always. He weighs positives and negatives to determine a feasible way of taking action. Yet when it comes to weighing the truth of the Gospel, the unregenerate man will always find it lacking, rejecting the true Christ and true way of salvation.

    That is not to say the spiritual need within unregenerate men is not met in some way, shape or form. It is met in false religions which are less demanding than Christianity. This innate need in man is also met in false Christianity, whereby a false Gospel and false Christ are worshipped by many. It is the broad way, whose doctrines tickle the ears of the hearers.

    An example of a false Gospel is one which guarantees that simply by reciting a stock sinner's prayer your place in Heaven will be forever secure. An example of a false Christ is one who loves all people without exception, yet cannot save most, having allegedly loved them, died for them, shed His blood for them, and resurrected for them in vain, a monumental failure of a Savior.

"If Christ has already made an efficacious atonement for the sins of an elect person, is that elect person actually lost during the time period prior to their salvation?"

My Response: Christ confided in His disciples that they had been with him from the beginning. Christ is referring back to Genesis 1:1, the beginning of creation. He had already chosen them for salvation before He created the heavens and earth. They, of course, did not know this, nor did they know the true God, until He revealed Himself to them. From God's eternal perspective all His Elect are already with Him in glory, (Eph. 2:6). The Lord knoweth them that are His; that knowledge has always been and always will be. The Lord never learns. All knowledge is with Him always. In this sense, the Good Shepherd knows the identity and location of every 'lost' sheep. When He calls, they hear His voice and follow Him, as did the disciples. The saving grace of God cannot fail. It is irresistible and will accomplish all that is necessary for the gathering and glorification of the Lord's sheep.

    Because men are born separated from God, the enemy of God, who do not seek the true God, all are under his wrath and displeasure. However, when an Elect sinner is given the gift of faith in order to believe on Christ, the wrath of God is lifted, having already been appeased by Christ' atonement on behalf of that Elect person when, as High Priest, Christ asked the Father to forgive the Elect their sins. The full wrath of God was posited on Christ at the cross. The Elect will never experience that horror, praise God. The unrepentant sinner will experience the unmitigated wrath of God in the 2nd death, after he has been found guilty, sentenced and thrown into the Lake of Fire.

    Thus, the unjustified sinner, though Elect, must believe before justification can occur and the wrath of God lifted, at which time he is baptized into the Body of Christ, adopted into the family of God, for all time and eternity.