John Calvin and Calvinism.

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GodsGrace

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They just do not understand.
We still need to post why men wrote the bible to teach us to know God.

If God did all the choosing...no bible would have been necessary...
and there is no good news...

Why write a book telling of the good news if a person could not avail themselves of the content??!
 
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Lifelong_sinner

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Let me show you what honesty looks like.
If you ask me if I believe in free-will?.....the answer will be yes.
If you ask me if I believe in total predestination or limited predestination or no predestination at all?.....the answer, very little predestination.
If you ask me if I believe in irresistible Grace or Hyper-grace?.....the answer is no.
If you ask me if I believe that God determined the salvation or damnation of individuals before creation?...the answer is no.
If you ask me if I believe in the total depravity of Mankind?...the answer is no.
If you ask me if I believe in unconditional election?....the answer is no.
If you ask me what the elect are? I say all that choose Christ.
If you ask me if I believe in limited atonement? the answer is no.
If you ask me if I believe in the Perseverance of the saints.....which means OSAS? the answer is no.

See what honesty looks like. Try some.

1. we have free will, to like a particular color of a car or pizza over spaghetti.
2. God knows EVERYTHING, before the universe was even created.
3. Irresistible grace?? Absolutely. God’s grace cannot be turned down.
4. Yes, God chose all of the elect before the universe.
5. absolute total depravity. How can anyone deny this when looking at the state of earth??
6. Unconditional election?? Yes!!! God chose His elect before the universe was created so yes, our actions bear NO effect on our salvation.
7. The elect - those God chose.
8. Limited atonement?? Absolutely. Otherwise no one would ever goto hell.
9. OSAS?? Absolutely. Your depraved mind cant out sin God’s grace. Once He gives it to you, forever His will you be.
 

Lifelong_sinner

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We still need to post why men wrote the bible to teach us to know God.

If God did all the choosing...no bible would have been necessary...
and there is no good news...

Why write a book telling of the good news if a person could not avail themselves of the content??!

the good news only applies to the elect. If only those who are saved can understand the Bible, then why would you expect the un-elect to even care about salvation??
 

GodsGrace

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the good news only applies to the elect. If only those who are saved can understand the Bible, then why would you expect the un-elect to even care about salvation??
Well Lifelong...that's my point exactly.

IF the good news ONLY applies to the elect - which in your language means the saved...
they WHY is it even necessary?

Why do they need to understand the bible?
What's the point?
They're saved, right?

Also, Jesus died as expiation for our sins...
He took the sins of the world upon Himself so that those who CHOOSE to avail themselves of that sacrifice can be saved.
WHY would Jesus have to die IF we cannot freely avail ourselves of His sacrifice?
It makes it totally unnecessary.

Of course you're referring to
1 Corinthians 2:14
14But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.


The natural man cannot accept the things of the Spirit of God.
But the N.T. was written so that a man may believe:
1 John 1:3
3what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Why write the N.T. if a man cannot choose to be saved?
Why would Jesus knock if we cannot open the door?
Revelation 3:20
20‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

 

Grailhunter

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we have free will, to like a particular color of a car or pizza over spaghetti.

This one we can discuss.....predestination as a power of God used limitedly.....Predestination as controlling people....double predestination as complete reality is pre-orchestrated as a play every snowflake predestined before creation.

God knows EVERYTHING, before the universe was even created.

This is called clairvoyance, not predestination.

Irresistible grace?? Absolutely. God’s grace cannot be turned down.

No we can turn God down and belief in Christ is a choice.

Yes, God chose all of the elect before the universe.

Belief in Christ is a choice and all that believe in Christ are the elect.

absolute total depravity. How can anyone deny this when looking at the state of earth??

Some people think that the glass is half full and some believe it is half empty....you believe the glass in manure.
There are good people that do not chose Christ....good Buddhists. That is why I wrote a thread about good people going to hell.
Being good is not what saves you. Choosing Christ is what saves you.
The most intelligent and good God has always had a interest in us and loves us.....we cannot be all bad.

Unconditional election?? Yes!!! God chose His elect before the universe was created so yes, our actions bear NO effect on our salvation.

Disagree completely and goes along with the sci-fi entity that made living robots.

The elect - those God chose.

The elect are those that chose God.

Limited atonement?? Absolutely. Otherwise no one would ever goto hell.

Those that go to heaven are the ones that chose Christ and obey by choice.
OSAS?? Absolutely. Your depraved mind cant out sin God’s grace. Once He gives it to you, forever His will you be.

OSAS is a false belief.
 

GodsGrace

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This one we can discuss.....predestination as a power of God used limitedly.....Predestination as controlling people....double predestination as complete reality is pre-orchestrated as a play every snowflake predestined before creation.



This is called clairvoyance, not predestination.



No we can turn God down and belief in Christ is a choice.



Belief in Christ is a choice and all that believe in Christ are the elect.



Some people think that the glass is half full and some believe it is half empty....you believe the glass in manure.
There are good people that do not chose Christ....good Buddhists. That is why I wrote a thread about good people going to hell.
Being good is not what saves you. Choosing Christ is what saves you.
The most intelligent and good God has always had a interest in us and loves us.....we cannot be all bad.



Disagree completely and goes along with the sci-fi entity that made living robots.



The elect are those that chose God.



Those that go to heaven are the ones that chose Christ and obey by choice.


OSAS is a false belief.
Must leave after this...
I have a comment on depravity and would like to include @Lifelong_sinner, perhaps he could reply:

The N.T. does teach that before salvation we are depraved in our nature.
A person could be a good person but, as you've stated, this will not save him - faith is necessary.

I'd like to know from LLS, where in the verses that teach some form of depravity, let's even assume it's total depravity...
where in those verses is it stated that this depravity makes a person UNABLE to seek God and turn to God?
I just don't see it.
The bible teaches that we can seek God and find Him...the O.T. is full of these verses...and the N.T. too.
 

Grailhunter

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The N.T. does teach that before salvation we are depraved in our nature.

depraved.....morally corrupt; wicked. My main issue is with the word.

In the OT people missed the mark....definition of the word sin. Were the Apostles depraved before they met Christ? Probably not.
Good people....good Jews....good Jews that chose Christ....Good Pagans that chose Christ....gentiles.
The references in the New Testament are speaking to the fact that no one really knew what morality and character was until Christ and the Apostles taught them.
 

Rudometkin

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You are merely trying to deflect from the main issue, since you cannot support your position. God certainly predetermined the sacrifice of Christ, but He DOES NOT elect (or predetermine) some for salvation and others for damnation. That would cancel the purpose of the crucifixion, and also make God a liar. It is the liar Satan who has planted into the minds of men the false idea that God predetermines who will be saved, and who will be damned. But God offers salvation to all freely.

You said God did not predetermine sin. You said God predetermined the crucifixion. So you believe that the crucifixion was not a sinful act.
 

Rudometkin

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The reformed believe God predestinates EVERYTHING that happens....which takes away our responsibility for sinning

God predestinated that you would be responsible for sinning.

If you can't grasp this, then you can't grasp the reformed position.
 

FHII

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What do you think those on my side do not understand?
I don't remember your posts to know what you believe, so I can't answer you directly. But I have responded to others, and if you read my responses, you have an idea.

First off, he didn't come up with the tulip theory. He commented on like-topics, as well as many more. He did believe in predestination (with good reason as it is in the Bible), but he never states that such means we are free to sin all we want, nor does it mean anyone should stop striving toward salvation. In fact, just the opposite since that knowledge (of who is predestinated) is God's alone.

Speaking of predestination, some have suggested that God doesn't even foreknow who will be saved which against many scripture.

One thing that I had forgotten about is that Calvin was not against the idea of free will. He had a different take on it than those who believe they can decide if they are saved or not, but he nonetheless acknowledge it, which shows those with an overactive imagination who believe Calvin says we are all robots are not correct on what he wrote.

These are just a few things, but frankly... I don't rhink anyone cares... Believe what you like.
 

Enoch111

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You said God did not predetermine sin. You said God predetermined the crucifixion. So you believe that the crucifixion was not a sinful act.
You're trying to go off on a tangent because you are unable to grasp a very simple concept -- God uses wicked men to accomplish His righteous purposes, as seen in the crucifixion (and as seen in the life of Joseph and others). But the guilt belongs to the evildoers. However, your theology would make God guilty of sin! Even the Muslims don't make their Allah into a sinner.
 
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Episkopos

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Here is another example from John Calvin, where in the same Book III of the Institutes, he contradicts himself. Please note his words carefully, since he chose his words carefully:

BIBLE TRUTH: SALVATION OF THE HUMAN RACE

We must now see in what way we become possessed of the blessings which God has bestowed on his only-begotten Son, not for private use, but to enrich the poor and needy. And the first thing to be attended to is, that so long as we are without Christ and separated from him, nothing which he suffered and did for the salvation of the human race is of the least benefit to us. Institutes III. 1.1.

CALVINISTIC ERROR: SALVATION OF THE FOREORDAINED
...and yet the difficulty is easily solved: for though none are enlightened into faith, and truly feel the efficacy of the Gospel, with the exception of those who are fore-ordained to salvation, yet experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect, that even in their own judgment there is no difference between them. Institutes III. 2. 11.

Was Calvin blind to his own contradictions?

A half truth plus another half truth doesn't lead to the truth if a person only stands for one at a time.
 
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Rudometkin

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You're trying to go off on a tangent because

You know too much, friend. As in, you think you "know" more than you actually know. I have been locked on your point from the beginning. You have been the one deflecting from your own point. You said:

why would God command ALL men everywhere to repent and believe, if he has already decided that only some will be saved? DO YOU SEE THE ABSURDITY?

Your point was to attack a specific behavior of God in "Calvinism".

Why would God command men to do one thing if He has already predetermined them to do the opposite?

But this behavior is already undoubtedly established in the crucifixion, even outside of "Calvinism".

God commands men to not murder, yet He has predetermined the crucifixion, which is murder.

So my whole point still remains. Remember what you said:

why would God command ALL men everywhere to repent and believe, if he has already decided that only some will be saved? DO YOU SEE THE ABSURDITY?

You must think it's absurd for God to have ordained the crucifixion while commanding men to not murder.

Why don't you be consistent and ask why God commanded men to not sin, if He has already decided they would sin in the crucifixion?

you are unable to grasp a very simple concept -- God uses wicked men to accomplish His righteous purposes, as seen in the crucifixion (and as seen in the life of Joseph and others). But the guilt belongs to the evildoers. However, your theology would make God guilty of sin! Even the Muslims don't make their Allah into a sinner.

You still "know" too much. You don't even know my theology.

Sin is transgression of law. God is under no law. Any action God does is Righteous by definition and is not sin. God is not guilty of anything, God is the Righteous cause of everything. But for you, your low opinion of God is made evident for all to see.

God uses wicked men to accomplish His righteous purposes, as seen in the crucifixion

God predetermined He would use wicked men. So you must believe God predetermined there would be wicked men and He would use them for Righteousness.

Now after sticking with a logical conclusion, it looks like you're starting to line up with my theology.
 

TEXBOW

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You know too much, friend. As in, you think you "know" more than you actually know. I have been locked on your point from the beginning. You have been the one deflecting from your own point. You said:



Your point was to attack a specific behavior of God in "Calvinism".

Why would God command men to do one thing if He has already predetermined them to do the opposite?

But this behavior is already undoubtedly established in the crucifixion, even outside of "Calvinism".

God commands men to not murder, yet He has predetermined the crucifixion, which is murder.

So my whole point still remains. Remember what you said:



You must think it's absurd for God to have ordained the crucifixion while commanding men to not murder.

Why don't you be consistent and ask why God commanded men to not sin, if He has already decided they would sin in the crucifixion?



You still "know" too much. You don't even know my theology.

Sin is transgression of law. God is under no law. Any action God does is Righteous by definition and is not sin. God is not guilty of anything, God is the Righteous cause of everything. But for you, your low opinion of God is made evident for all to see.



God predetermined He would use wicked men. So you must believe God predetermined there would be wicked men and He would use them for Righteousness.

Now after sticking with a logical conclusion, it looks like you're starting to line up with my theology.
God knows what I'm going to have for lunch but he does not choose my lunch. I think you keep missing just because God knew of mans future path does not mean that he made man take that path.
 

PinSeeker

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And I totally disagree with Calvinist beliefs.
Sure you do. No worries.

The reason I am not interested in your scriptures is because I know several cults that can quote scriptures to support their beliefs.
LOL! What other authority is there than God Himself? My goodness. I have asked you before and I am now asking you yet again to show me ~ if you can ~ how you think I am misrepresenting God's Word. Or perhaps you just disregard God's Word altogether. Is that the case?

Study the Jehovah's Witness religion and the scriptures they sight to support their religion and you will see how it is done from another angle.
Oh, I'm well aware of Jehovah's Witnesses and their "reengineered" ~ in the 1830s, to suit what they believed ~ version of the Bible, the New World Translation. It's similar in that respect to the Book of Mormon, which Mormon's claim is another revelation of God from a supposed "Coming to America" (see what I did there? :)) by Jesus, which is one of the things Jesus Himself warned about near the end of His earthly ministry.

Another study, which is a little more difficult is the People's Temple cult....Jim Jones....very big on biblical study. There are lots of Christian religions out there...
Well, there is the Judeo-Christianity of the Bible, and there is... everything else, including off-shoots of it, which are themselves something quite other than Biblical Judeo-Christianity.

Jim Jones and his people were a Utopian/social change church movement... some really wacked out folks. And there are many off-shoots even of this today.

So you have the Calvinists that blaspheme God...
LOL! No, Calvinists don't "blaspheme God." But I would like to how you think Calvinists "blaspheme God," and under what authority and understanding you come to that conclusion ~ what you use and how you support it. That would be... interesting.

Like I said, thinking something ~ anything ~ is all well and good, but it really means nothing if you don't have anything solid to back it up.

Blasphemy is assigning the name of God to any person other than God Himself. This is what many thought Jesus was doing when assigning the name of God (from Exodus 3:14) to Himself in John 8:58. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin, is assigning evil ~ even the place that only Satan occupies ~ to God, Calvinists certainly don't do either. But yeah, let's hear what you have to say.

...and the Jehovah's Witnesses that deny the Deity of Christ...
Sure. Based on their heretical re-engineering of what the Bible actually says. Sure.

...and the New Age folks that with Bible in hand mix Christianity with witchcraft.
Sure, they add to the Bible, which is how a cult is defined. Yeah, like I said, there are a lot of wacked out folks out there. But hey, nothing new under the sun.

Grace and peace to you.
 

Grailhunter

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Sure you do. No worries.


LOL! What other authority is there than God Himself? My goodness. I have asked you before and I am now asking you yet again to show me ~ if you can ~ how you think I am misrepresenting God's Word. Or perhaps you just disregard God's Word altogether. Is that the case?


Oh, I'm well aware of Jehovah's Witnesses and their "reengineered" ~ in the 1830s, to suit what they believed ~ version of the Bible, the New World Translation. It's similar in that respect to the Book of Mormon, which Mormon's claim is another revelation of God from a supposed "Coming to America" (see what I did there? :)) by Jesus, which is one of the things Jesus Himself warned about near the end of His earthly ministry.


Well, there is the Judeo-Christianity of the Bible, and there is... everything else, including off-shoots of it, which are themselves something quite other than Biblical Judeo-Christianity.

Jim Jones and his people were a Utopian/social change church movement... some really wacked out folks. And there are many off-shoots even of this today.


LOL! No, Calvinists don't "blaspheme God." But I would like to how you think Calvinists "blaspheme God," and under what authority and understanding you come to that conclusion ~ what you use and how you support it. That would be... interesting.

Like I said, thinking something ~ anything ~ is all well and good, but it really means nothing if you don't have anything solid to back it up.

Blasphemy is assigning the name of God to any person other than God Himself. This is what many thought Jesus was doing when assigning the name of God (from Exodus 3:14) to Himself in John 8:58. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin, is assigning evil ~ even the place that only Satan occupies ~ to God, Calvinists certainly don't do either. But yeah, let's hear what you have to say.


Sure. Based on their heretical re-engineering of what the Bible actually says. Sure.


Sure, they add to the Bible, which is how a cult is defined. Yeah, like I said, there are a lot of wacked out folks out there. But hey, nothing new under the sun.

Grace and peace to you.

Calvinism is a absurd concept...and I do have a sense of humor....but that line stops when it is a religion that stands so firm and so determined to blaspheme God.
 

PinSeeker

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God knows what I'm going to have for lunch but he does not choose my lunch.
See, TEXBOW, this is the issue, really. God's predestination concerns His salvation. Hyper-Calvinists would say that His predestination extends to all facets of the human life, but this is quite ridiculous. God's salvation is what "depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy" (Romans 9:16). God's salvation depends on His mercy and whether He extends it to any certain person or not. It doesn't have anything to do with what you do or don't decide to have for lunch, whether you choose to purchase a four-door sedan or an extended cab jacked up pick-up truck to drive... :)... or any other run-of-the-mill (or very important) life choice between this or that that you make. You are perfectly autonomous in that sense. But with regard to God's salvation, no. Come on.

I think you keep missing just because God knew of mans future path does not mean that he made man take that path.
Do you think He knows the future path of some/many, or all? I'm sure you would say all, so no need to answer. But that's a very important clarification to make, especially in view of what Paul says in the entire passage of Romans 8, but particularly Romans 8:29 and Romans 11:2, and specific to those verses, who he was referring to by "those whom he foreknew " (8:29) and "(God's) people whom He foreknew" (11:2). Observe:

  • 'Foreknew,' as Paul uses it there, does not merely mean he knew beforehand. Paul is talking about a specific group of people from Romans 8 through Romans 11, a subset of all people. It cannot be that "He knew what they would do before it happened," because in that sense, God knows every body and every thing beforehand. But again, Paul is talking about a specific group of people, a subset of all people.

  • And 'foreknew,' for that very reason, is used by Paul in the sense that He fore-loved that specific group of people. Yes, He loves all people, but He loves some in a sovereign, distinguishing way ~ much as a father loves his own children differently than all the other children of the world. God pre-ordained to love this specific group of people, each at his/her appointed time, in this sovereign, distinguishing way, before the foundation of the world. And this is exactly what Paul says in Ephesians 1:4-5:
    • "...even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will."

The Greek verb Paul uses there, the base of which is 'knew' is synonymous with the Hebrew verb used in reference to Adam, who "knew" his wife, and his wife, Eve, subsequently gave birth to sons (Eve bore Cain, Abel, and Seth in Genesis 4; Cain also "knew" his wife, and she bore Enoch in the same chapter). The only difference is that in Genesis, this knowing leads to natural childbirth, while in Romans 8-11, Paul is talking about God giving spiritual life to His elect (which is a huge different, even infinitely so, but the base concept is the same)

Grace and peace to you.
 

PinSeeker

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Calvinism is a absurd concept...
As I have said, far be it from me to deprive you of your opinion... as if I could even do so... :)

that line stops when it is a religion that stands so firm and so determined to blaspheme God.
Calvinism is not a "religion." But, yeah, I ~ as a "five-point Calvinist" ~ wholeheartedly agree with you in principle concerning the blasphemy of God, that it's a definite no-no. :)

Thanks for your thoughts. Like I said, I would be interested to know what you base them on, but withholding that information is certainly your prerogative.

Grace and peace to you.
 

PinSeeker

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t doesn't matter what OT passage is being referred to in John 3:16 because the bible does not have conflict in its message.
Well that's the very reason that it does ~ absolutely ~ matter what passage is being referred to by John in chapter 3 of his gospel (and by Paul in Romans 10). God is His own arbiter.

Isaiah is referred to, Jeremiah is referred to, Kings... anywhere where it is stated that the name of the Lord is called upon.
Agreed. Absolutely. All those Biblical passages are absolutely consistent... and not inconsistent as you would (inadvertently) have them be. That's the point.

Joel 2:32.....EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.
Romans 10:13..EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED....
Like I said, Joel is referring to a specific group of people here, those whom the LORD calls. They are the ones who will call on the name of the LORD, after He calls them.

Acts 17:31...BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD AND YOU WILL BE SAVED.
Acts 2:21....EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED

Also, if you notice, the OT also teaches us that the Lord may be found: (and the NT)

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Proverbs 8:17
I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Jeremiah 12:13
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Deuteronomy 4:29
But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

and many more...
Sure. This is the general call of the Gospel, not God's effectual call that He issues through His Holy Spirit.

We cannot only use scripture that SEEMS to agree with what we believe...
Wholeheartely agreed. And we can't manipulate Scripture to agree with what we think, but rather the other way around. But in our exchange, that's all you, my friend. All you.

we must use all of scripture because God does not contradict Himself.
Agreed again, but that's the effect of what you are saying ~ to make God appear to contradict Himself.

John 3:16 may seem descriptive to you...
But you cannot deny that all of the above are prescriptive.

God calls everyone and is not a respecter of persons:
1 Timothy 2:4 God desires that all men be saved...not just some of His choosing.
Yes, regarding the general call of God to the gospel and to repent and believe. But His effectual call, issued by His Spirit the hearts of men, only comes to His elect, each at his/her appointed time. This is what Jeremiah is saying ~ well, actually God ~ when he quotes God thusly:

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:313-33).​

Yes, Nicodemus, a man can be born again. :)

Romans 2:11 There is no partiality with God...Jew and Gentile have the same opportunity of salvation.
Agreed. The Gospel, since the advent of Christ Jesus, is available in full to all.

But even still, God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, compassion on whom He will have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills. Romans 9 is true, also.

Would you deny God His free will? Because in effect, that's exactly what you and other like-minded folks are doing.

Grace and peace to you.
 

Rudometkin

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Hyper-Calvinists would say that His predestination extends to all facets of the human life, but this is quite ridiculous.

Now you are like the non-Calvinists.

Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning
, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Acts 17:28
for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Colossians 1:17

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Isaiah 45:7

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Can anything happen apart from God's power?