Certain things in Calvinism appear to me to be biblical.
Here are a few scriptures that seem to me to support the doctrine:
Rom 8:30, Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 9:11, (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:15, For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17, For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:30, What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Rom 11:5, Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Rom 11:6, And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Rom 11:7, What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
How do these scriptures coincide with the fact of other scriptures?; for example:
Rom 10:9, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11, For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12, For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Jhn 6:37, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Rom 5:1, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Eph 2:8, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9, Not of works, lest any man should boast.
We have a tendency to recoil against the Calvinistic concept that God would actually arbitrarily harden someone's heart and/or blind them so that they cannot come to the place of being saved; or the concept in the first verses that God only calls those whom He has predestined.
I would make it an issue, even in believing such Calvinistic verses, that if a man is going to be saved, he must be born again; and that the only way to be born again is through faith in Jesus Christ and what was done for us on the Cross by Him.
There is also the problem of the fact that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So then, why would He harden and/or blind a person so that they cannot come to the place of being saved?
These are difficult concepts to grasp; but I have never been one to run from a theological challenge. If we put our heads together perhaps we can come up with a solution.
One solution I will not accept is the concept of a God who is not absolute love; or that when God says "any" in 2 Peter 3:9 He is referring to an all that includes only people groups rather than all actually meaning all. That God doesn't want any to perish means that if anyone does perish, it is not according to the Lord's perfect and pleasing will.
Free will is a concept that I hold to be self-evident.
Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). If this translates into Irresistible Grace, then there are only two options: 1) Universalism and 2) Limited Atonement.
1) Universalism is not valid because of such verses as Matthew 13:41-42, Matthew 13:49-50, and Matthew 25:46. But if Irresistible Grace is the reality, then it would have to be the case because God is not willing that any should perish; therefore if God desires everyone to be saved, how can anyone not be saved?
2) Limited Atonement is not the reality because of what I just mentioned: God is not willing that any should perish and Jesus also gave Himself a ransom for all (not many) according to 1 Timothy 2:6; He died for the sins of the whole world (all men) according to 1 John 2:2 and 1 Timothy 4:9-10. Yet people do go to hell and therefore Universalism isn't valid.
If there is any solution to this dilemna other than the concept of free will I am all ears.
The solution that my wife and I came up with was that God's love and Omnipotence cannot fail to give every man a choice when it comes to salvation.
Nevertheless God only calls those whom He has predestined (Romans 8:30). And He also arbitrarily blinds and hardens certain people so that they cannot be saved (Romans 9:18, Romans 11:7 (kjv)).
I am in the business of reconciling Bible contradictions. But this one frankly is over my head; so I am recruiting others to help find a solution.
Here are a few scriptures that seem to me to support the doctrine:
Rom 8:30, Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 9:11, (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:15, For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17, For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:30, What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Rom 11:5, Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Rom 11:6, And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Rom 11:7, What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
How do these scriptures coincide with the fact of other scriptures?; for example:
Rom 10:9, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11, For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12, For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Jhn 6:37, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Rom 5:1, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Eph 2:8, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9, Not of works, lest any man should boast.
We have a tendency to recoil against the Calvinistic concept that God would actually arbitrarily harden someone's heart and/or blind them so that they cannot come to the place of being saved; or the concept in the first verses that God only calls those whom He has predestined.
I would make it an issue, even in believing such Calvinistic verses, that if a man is going to be saved, he must be born again; and that the only way to be born again is through faith in Jesus Christ and what was done for us on the Cross by Him.
There is also the problem of the fact that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So then, why would He harden and/or blind a person so that they cannot come to the place of being saved?
These are difficult concepts to grasp; but I have never been one to run from a theological challenge. If we put our heads together perhaps we can come up with a solution.
One solution I will not accept is the concept of a God who is not absolute love; or that when God says "any" in 2 Peter 3:9 He is referring to an all that includes only people groups rather than all actually meaning all. That God doesn't want any to perish means that if anyone does perish, it is not according to the Lord's perfect and pleasing will.
Free will is a concept that I hold to be self-evident.
Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). If this translates into Irresistible Grace, then there are only two options: 1) Universalism and 2) Limited Atonement.
1) Universalism is not valid because of such verses as Matthew 13:41-42, Matthew 13:49-50, and Matthew 25:46. But if Irresistible Grace is the reality, then it would have to be the case because God is not willing that any should perish; therefore if God desires everyone to be saved, how can anyone not be saved?
2) Limited Atonement is not the reality because of what I just mentioned: God is not willing that any should perish and Jesus also gave Himself a ransom for all (not many) according to 1 Timothy 2:6; He died for the sins of the whole world (all men) according to 1 John 2:2 and 1 Timothy 4:9-10. Yet people do go to hell and therefore Universalism isn't valid.
If there is any solution to this dilemna other than the concept of free will I am all ears.
The solution that my wife and I came up with was that God's love and Omnipotence cannot fail to give every man a choice when it comes to salvation.
Nevertheless God only calls those whom He has predestined (Romans 8:30). And He also arbitrarily blinds and hardens certain people so that they cannot be saved (Romans 9:18, Romans 11:7 (kjv)).
I am in the business of reconciling Bible contradictions. But this one frankly is over my head; so I am recruiting others to help find a solution.
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