R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 1 by Dave Hunt
Not A Question Of Obligation
Such rationalization simply won't work. Of course Calvinism's God prevents t
he non-elect from coming to Him. He very clearly does so by withholding the
grace without which they can't believe.
Furthermore, He has predestined them to eternal damnation. Could there be an
y stronger means of preventing the nonelect from coming to Him? What this fr
iend apparently means is that God withholds nothing that He is under obligat
ion to bestow.
Obviously God is under no obligation to extend mercy or grace to anyone. By
very definition, mercy and grace are completely without obligation. Thus one
cannot excuse the Calvinistic God's failure to extend grace and mercy to al
l by simply saying He is under no obligation to do so.
Obligation is not the basis for extending grace and mercy, but rather, love
and the desire to meet the sinner's need.
All of God’s qualities are infinite and in perfect balance. Among those qua
lities is mercy: "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracio
us, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth" (Psalms 86:15). All thr
ough Scripture it is made clear that God is a God of mercy. He requires of u
s that we "love mercy," and He "delighteth in mercy" (Micah 7:18; 6:8). Paul
tells us that God "is rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2:4). His "tender mercies a
re over all his works" (Psalms 145:9) and He has pronounced both Jews and Ge
ntiles "all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all" (Romans 11:32).
How could any of these scriptures be interpreted to mean that God limits His
grace to a select few?
Contrary to the theory of Total Depravity, the biblical accounts of God's de
alings with man would lead one to conclude that, in all good faith, God lovi
ngly, graciously and mercifully extends an offer of repentance and salvation
to all mankind - and that all are therefore able to make a moral choice to
believe in and accept or to reject Christ.
The plain language of Scripture which repeatedly offers salvation to all see
ms to proclaim that God truly desires to convince and to save all who are lo
st and that they all have the capacity to turn to Him if they so desire. Tha
t conclusion is impressed upon the reader by hundreds of seemingly clear sta
tements in the Bible calling upon men to repent and turn to God. Calvinism,
however, robs these scriptures of their plain meaning. |
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