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Is God a Schizophrenic?
Posted : 27 Apr, 2010 10:59 AM
Hi Everyone,
When we examine God and His sovereignty from a Calvinistic perspective we see that God predetermines some people for salvation and others to damnation without anyone having a choice in the matter. If this were to be really true then Calvinists have a serious problem with the scriptures.
2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV
"not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance".
So the scriptures tell us that God is not willing, in other words it is GOD's WILL that NONE should perish but that ALL come to repentance. So why is it then that not everyone comes to repentance and why is it then that not all will be saved? Why is it then since it is GOD's sovereign will that no one should perish but yet they do?
On one hand Calvinist claim that God predetermines salvation only to His "elect" and yet we see that God's will is that none should ever perish. This makes God to be a schizophrenic or something worse if we follow Calvin's teachings.
However what we do see from better eyes is that God is a loving God and wants everyone to be saved. Yet we know from scriptures that actually most will not be saved and in fact we also know that most Christians will end up abandoning Christ and committing Apostasy in the last days. So how is this resolved?
One of the many problems and inconsistency of Calvinism is that they fail to see that God, though all sovereign, places on Himself a limitation on His sovereign will that allows man a free will in certain situations. If God can do whatever He wants to, then is not God sovereign enough to place a limit on His own sovereignty within certain parameters in dealing with man and Free Will? Of course He does!
In many scriptures we see a consistent teaching that God has given man a Free will to choose Christ through His drawing by the Holy Spirit and a Free Will to resist the drawing of the Holy Spirit including Christians resisting that draw.
"'Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL PEOPLES to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die" (John 12:31-33).
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that ALL through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light TO EVERY MAN COMING INTO THE WORLD." (John 1:4-9).
Below from: http://www.pfrs.org/calvinism/calvin04.html
"Scripture indicates that the grace leading to salvation is "resistible." It also plainly states that it is shown to everyone. Paul wrote to Titus, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." (Titus 2:11). Calvinists frequently claim that the word "all" in such verses does not mean everyone, but can refer to all the elect. It is true that "all" is sometimes limited by the context. However, in this case, "all" is an adjective modifying "men" (anthropos). When "all" is used without modifying a specific noun, it may be limited by the context. That is, its antecedent might be stated elsewhere in the passage or even be implied but not stated. However, when it modifies a particular noun in a specific clause, it cannot be limited by the general context. It is limited only by the noun it modifies. The Greek word "anthropos" (men) refers to humanity, not the "elect." Therefore, the passage cannot rightly be limited to the elect. It refers to everyone.
There are two facts we can conclude from Titus 2:11. The first is clearly stated. God's saving grace has been shown to every individual. The second is a necessary inference. Since not all on whom God shows the "grace that bringeth salvation" are saved, God's saving grace cannot be "irresistible" or always "effectual." It is effectual only on those who respond positively. It is not effectual for those who resist. The same "grace of God that bringeth salvation" was shown to the men Steven addressed in the Sanhedrin. "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always RESIST THE HOLY GHOST: as your fathers did, so do ye." (Acts 7:51).
The Calvinism - Arminianism debate hinges on one question. Everything else is an attempt to harmonize the biblical data with the answer to this question. Who makes the decision regarding salvation � God or man? "Provision" is not at issue. That is God's alone. "Power" is not at issue. It is all of God. The Calvinist says God alone makes the "provision" for a few. He alone has the "power" to save. And the choice is His alone. The Arminian says God made provision for all. The power to save is God's alone. The choice is mans' only when God enables him to choose, and provides him with what is necessary to believe. His choice is between continuing to resist God's grace, or to stop resisting God's grace.
The Calvinist claims that any effort on man's part, no matter how small, constitutes "works," making man responsible for his own salvation. This has been the main reason for Calvinism's wide acceptance among Evangelicals. However, it is a false premise, and leads to false conclusions.
The whole issue really revolves around "resistance." Arminians agree that man is totally incapable of saving himself. We agree that man is even incapable of contributing to his own salvation in the slightest way. We will go so far as to say that man cannot even choose of his own free will to receive the gift of God unless God first enables him to do so. However, we also believe that God gives all people this ability through the power inherent in the Gospel, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit's drawing all men. The issue then is whether or not man resists the Holy Spirit until He draws them no more, or whether they stop resisting the Spirit at some point, and God saves them.
Let's use the example of a drowning man who cannot swim. This analogy has commonly been used in the Calvinism - Arminian debate. Calvinists falsely portray the Arminian position as God's throwing man a life preserver, and man's reaching out to grab it, and clinging to it by his own strength. Consequently, man must ACT on his own behalf (reaching for the life preserver), and continuing to act in cooperation with God's pulling him to safety (by continuing to cling to it). Man's own strength in reaching for the life preserver, and holding on to it, contributes to his being rescued. This might be a true representation of Pelagianism or even semi-Pelagianism held by Catholics, but not consistent Arminianism. It is a false analogy.
The true analogy would be that Jesus jumps into the water to save the drowning sinner. He swims to Him, reaches out and grabs him. He repeatedly shouts to him to stop struggling, and He will save him. He continues to warn him that his own struggling will make it impossible to save him. And He continues to grab hold of the man, attempting to pull him to safety. The drowning man can either continue to struggle to save himself, resisting Christ's persistent and longsuffering efforts to save him, or he can trust Christ, stop resisting and fighting against the water, and allow Christ to pull him to safety. If he stops fighting and resisting, and relaxes, trusting Christ to save him, he will be saved. If he persists in his own struggle, he will drown.
"Resistance is futile" only in the sense that resistance necessarily leads to damnation.
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