Subject: Is Limited Atonement Bibical? |
Bible Note: To John, Joe, Zach, Tim, Makarios, and all, Some thoughts/ questions: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) and “If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2) implies that atonement and/or reconciliation is an offer to be acted upon or not acted upon with God responding to our action. How does Calvinism account for this apparent choice that God is waiting for us to make or not make? Does Calvinism acknowledge any “free will” given to man by God? I absolutely believe that God knows the end tally or, if you will, who the elect are/will be. Then what is the big drawn out hoopla of our existence all about? I believe that to accomplish "one" of His purposes, He requires that we choose Him “first.” And what is "one" of His purposes? Well, you might accuse me of adding to the scriptures, but, here goes anyway. I believe that the whole history of the earth is to give us the chance to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to "ourselves" that we have chosen to receive or not receive. So there can be no doubt that God is not some big meany God doing this to us. I believe that when every individual person stands before God, that there will be NO argument, because in less than one fell swooping moment, we/he will be aware of every chance God gave us/him, and what our response was to it. Many think on this side of death that they will be able to reason with God as why they deserve “heaven.” In actuality they will know that it is/was not a beauty pageant; but it was a choice, their choice, and not God’s choice. His holiness will require the choice to be honored. The problem that I see with Calvinistic doctrine is that it “sounds” like the elect are in like Flynn, and the others don’t have a chance in Hades. And whether we like it or not, the reality is that this presents a huge stumbling block to many in and outside the faith. Well, I hope my train of thought was not too hard to follow. I have enjoyed reading all the posts over the last couple of hours, so I hope you don't mind me adding something. |