Man is inherently a
sinner and is engulfed in a sea of sin so that he
cannot save himself. Because of this Man is sinner
by choice also. This was why God has to take the
initiative and "stoop down the heaven and come to
earth. Calvinism however goes much farther by
claiming that man is totally incapable of even
understanding spiritual matters and least of all
responding to the gospel. The verse which supports
this view is given as
Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live
when you followed the ways of this world and of the
ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is
now at work in those who are disobedient.3 All of us
also lived among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature and following its
desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by
nature objects of wrath.
Paul here uses the
phrase "dead in trespasses and sins". What did he
mean by dead is actaully explained in verse 12
12 remember that at that time you were separate from
Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without God in the world.
We were dead
because
- we were
separate from Christ.
- Excluded from
the citizenzip of Israel
- Foreigners to
the covenants of promise
And therefore without
hope, without God.
It is not that we
were dead to all external spiritual stimuli as
Calvinism claims. Such a stand will have to explain
many other verses which assumes that man is free and
is capable making choices and capable of responding
positively or negatively to the call of God. All
over scripture appeals to reason and calls for a
response.
Is. 1:18 "Come now,
let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your
sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be
like wool.19 If you are willing and obedient, you
will eat the best from the land; [Here is a
passage where God calls for a debate over his offer
of salvation to sinners. Such an offer will be
absurd if they are unable even to understand the
opponent. It is like talking quantum mechanics to
the corpse and expect it to come out with a
reasonable counter argument.]
Is 45: 22 "Turn to
me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am
God, and there is no other.23 By myself I have
sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word
that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will
bow; by me every tongue will swear.[Is this
bowing down and confession externally mecahnically
manipulated or coming out of the free man. If it is
former it will make no sense]
Is 55: 6 Seek the
LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is
near.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil
man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he
will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will
freely pardon.[This calls for men to seek the
Lord while He can be found. God can be found by man
if they seek according this passage.]
Jn 1: 7 He came as
a witness to testify concerning that light, so that
through him all men might believe.
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God-
Jn 3: 16 "For God
so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned already
because he has not believed in the name of God's one
and only Son.19 This is the verdict: Light has come
into the world, but men loved darkness instead of
light because their deeds were evil.20 Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come
into the light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed.21 But whoever lives by the truth comes
into the light, so that it may be seen plainly
that what he has done has been done
These passages
where all men are called for salvation is a diffcult
element for Calvinists to explain. The usual
explanation is that all does not mean all but few or
all those who are predestined or elected. But does
this stand on the context? If we extend this concept
to other verses won't it make the Word of God
irrelevant? Jn 3:16 God loved the Cosmos and this
cannot at any means to imple a select few. It
encompasses not only the living but also the
non-living. Under no circumstance the "all" and
whomosoever could mean the elect. The only condition
given is believe.
Mankind is not
physically dead. Nor, is the mental capacity to
reason dead. His spirit is also not dead. But each
part of these three are decaying or partially dead.
If it continues it will lead to total death of body,
mind and spirit. All these three are "quickened" [or
made alive] by Christ because it is the spirit that
gives life.
Jn 11 25 Jesus said
to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He
who believes in me will live, even though he
dies;26 and whoever lives and believes in me will
never die. Do you believe this?"
The decay process
is retarded, but it may not be able to totally
accelerate to renewal during the short period on
earthly life.
Paul does describe
some people who are "reprobates" whom God has given
over to a "reprobate mind" because of their constant
refusal after repeatedly being enlightened. How can
they be enlightened if they are unable to
understand.
Rom 1:16 I am not
ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of
God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
{Salvation is for everyone who believes}first
for the Jew, then for the Gentile.17 For in the
gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last,
just as it is written: "The righteous will live by
faith."18 The wrath of God is being revealed from
heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness
of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
{They suppress the truth because of their
wickedness not because they do not know as it
follows}19 since what may be known about God
is plain to them,{It was known to them. They
were not ignorant or unable to understand}
because God has made it plain to them.20 For since
the creation of the world God's invisible
qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have
been clearly seen, being understood from what has
been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For
although they knew God, {They indeed knew God
but refused to accept and acknowledge Him} they
neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him,
but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened.22 Although they claimed to be
wise, they became fools23 and exchanged the glory of
the immortal God for images made to look like mortal
man and birds and animals and reptiles.24
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful
desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for
the degrading of their bodies with one another.25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and
worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.26 Because
of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
Even their women exchanged natural relations for
unnatural ones.27 In the same way the men also
abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men, and received in
themselves the due penalty for their perversion.28
Furthermore, since they did not think it
worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave
them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought
not to be done.29 They have become filled with every
kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They
are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.
They are gossips,30 slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of
doing evil; they disobey their parents;31 they are
senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32
Although they know God's righteous decree that
those who do such things deserve death, they not
only continue to do these very things but also
approve of those who practice them.2:1 You,
therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on
someone else, for at whatever point you judge the
other, you are condemning yourself, because you who
pass judgment do the same things.
These are people
who constantly refused the grace of God, and
knowingly refused God. They knew God, yet refused
Him. As they move further and further away from God,
the light becomes dimmer and dimmer and their mind
become darkened. This is because darkness is nothing
but lack of light. Is there any point where the
light of God will never reach? There will be no time
when they are totally depraved. This is a process of
death. Man is never totally dead to the extent that
they are incapable of responding to God. Even when
they are very very far away God still draws all men.
The strength of this attraction is inversely
proportional to their distance. In this movement
away or towards God, Man has a deciding component of
contribution along with the drawing power of God and
the powers of darkness of this world.. Again I would
refer back to my vector model of man.
John 1: 9 The true
light that gives light to every man was coming into
the world. 12 Yet to all who received him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God--
Jn 12: 32 But I,
when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw
all men to myself."
Act 17:29
"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should
not think that the divine being is like gold or
silver or stone--an image made by man's design and
skill.30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all people everywhere to
repent.31 For he has set a day when he will judge
the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising him
from the dea"
The justice of God
demands that he be "no respector of persons" and
that the demands he makes are such that the people
could meet those demands. We would not like a
justice system otherwise. We would not even hold a
mad man responsible for his actions. We would not
think it sane to consider a stone as a killer if it
rolled over and killed some one. But yet Calvinistic
God is said to be doing just that.
We are presented
with a God who do not care, who talks to the dead
knowing fully that they cannot hear or understand.
Yet he demands a response and when it is lacking
inflicts a punishment beyond imagination. And that
God is considered a just God. It all boils down to
your concept of God. Is that the God whom Jesus
revealed to us? What is your God like?
