Bible Question:
It was stated thus, "I would appreciate it if the resident Calvinists on the forum could either explain why the Arminian perspective decreases the sovereignty of God, or admit that the Arminian perspective of God's sovereignty is not necessarily less than that of the Calvinists." Arminianism makes man God. It makes God and puppet in the hands of ma's so-called free will. It is a evil of all evils. Calvinism looks at God's sovereignty as Holy and for His glory. So how do sovereignty and free-will relate: Here is a quote from A Layman's Systematic Theology, by Dr. Joseph R. Nally, copyright 2002: When a man chooses to sin he chooses to do it by his own will. When a man does not choose Christ he does so by his own will. When a man chooses salvation he chooses to do so by his own will. Man does have a will in both cases, but it is not “as free” as the Arminians like to preach it. A man is in a box. The box is completely enclosed. The box has no light in it. The box is sound proof. The box has no windows or doors. This man lives in “his” box. The man lives in total darkness. Nothing from the outside get in. Nothing inside gets out. Now in this box this man makes all his own decisions based on the knowledge of the things in “his” box. The man above is one who is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). The man is blind to the things in the outside world (2 Cor 4:4). Unredeemed man loves darkness rather than light (John 1:4-9) for this is all he really knows, for this is all that is in his box. Though light appears all around his sin nature he will not comprehend it (John 1:5). As Christ demonstrated by His many healing miracles, man, because of his sin nature, is blind, deaf, crippled, speechless, diseased, and is even dead. Until God alone heals this inability of the soul of man he will remain in this condition. Man needs the Great Physician. God cannot in this be judged that He is unjust because He does not save them, for the man is free and is making his own decisions in his own box and he chooses not Christ: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). The natural man is in “his” box. Nothing comes in or goes out. His own sin has enclosed him. He is dead to all God has and makes his decision freely, based upon his own darkness, but will never freely choose Christ, for Christ is not in his box (Rom 3:11). But, God, in His sovereign grace, mercy, love, and purpose looks at the boxes of His elect from all eternity. God endures with His creatures in many things, but at a point in His sovereign timing He breaks open the box of His elect and allows His light to shine in the man’s box. The Holy Spirit has done a work in this man in the soul of his box. This man has been birthed into a new realm of understanding that he did not have before. He now sees something wonderful and irresistible in the light. Now he is irresistibly attracted to Christ. Because of this birth of grace the man is no longer blind, deaf, crippled, speechless, diseased, or even dead. He may now see the kingdom of God (for he is no longer blind), and hear the Gospel call (for he is no longer deaf), and walk to Calvary (for Calvary has already walked to him), he may now confess with his mouth the LORD Jesus (for he is no long dumb), he can now enter into the holiest of all (because he is no longer diseased), and he is now alive, (for by grace alone he has received life and is no longer dead in trespasses and sin). Light entered the box first. Now faith is in his box. Now faith enlightens and draws him. Yes, this man, as the other, is free to make a decision, but with the miracle that has just transpired his decision is now irresistibly enlightened: As the natural eyes are drawn irresistibly to the beautiful Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights), the spiritual man is drawn irresistibly to the light of Christ (John 1:12-13, John 3:3). As the natural man’s hearing is drawn by the beautiful sounds of the breaking ocean waves, now the spiritual man irresistibly hears the spiritual waves of the Gospel call (Rom 10:9-10). As a natural bride walks down the isle to meet her beloved in holy matrimony, the spiritual bride is now drawn irresistibly towards Calvary, for see they have been engaged since before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:3-12; 5:21-33). As the natural man is drawn irresistibly to speak out loud about himself and what he owns (for he is full of pride; ), the spiritual man is drawn to speak about his Lord and what his Lord owns (for he is full of praise; Eph 1:13). As the natural diseased man is drawn to go to his physician for cure, the spiritual man sees that the Great Physician has already cured him, for he has given him the spiritual penicillin of grace and faith (Eph 2:8-10). |
Bible Answer: But what of John 6:44 - 45? Jesus says "No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day". Okay, God must draw us out our boxes, as you call them, but what then of the following verse? "It is written in the Prophets: 'They will ALL be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me." And boxes? IS each man in a box? I don't think so, God created Man as a corporate identity, he created Adam and Eve, and through them all sin entered the world, and we lost out corporateness. But through one man, Jesus Christ, our corporate nature is restored, when his people are brought to completeness, then again we will be living in complete harmony with each other and God. In the mean time, through Jesus, the word in our hearts, we are used by God to reach others. The fields are ripe for harvest but the labourers are few, not the fields are ripe for harvest but what does it matter anyway, cause they cannot be reached by any means. Every decision we make clearly affects people around us, to say otherwise is ludicrous. We are in relationship with these people, if our actions and decisions had no affect on them at all, we wouldn't still call it a relationship. in fact that is the very definition of relationship. How then, can we have a relationship with God without him allowing us to choose things? And why would he punish us for sins he made us commit? Back it up with scripture (and both sides of this debate can clearly do that), say what you like to me, but this is not something so difficult to understand it makes our heads swim, its something so obviously incorrect it makes our heads swim. I don't think God is changing things that happen as they happen, based on Man's decisions, God is outside of time, he created time, clearly he isn't running around going "oh no Oh no what will happen next". But just as I don't blame God for decisions he sees me making now, I don't blame him for decisions he sees me make in the future. God isn't a puppet in our hands through my view, he is a loving father who willingly allows us to make decisions. It doesn't mean he doesn't have the power to take over, it simply means he doesn't. |