• Many Verses in the Bible Make No Sense Under Calvinism

    "Man's will has its proper place in the matter of salvation," declared Spurgeon. "When a man receives the Divine Grace of Christ, he does not receive it against his will.... Nor again, mark you, is the will taken away. For God does not come and convert the intelligent free agent into a machine." Yet he also declared, "Where is free will? Man is so depraved, the way of salvation so obnoxious to his pride... that he cannot like it... unless he who ordained the plan shall...subdue his will."

    If God must subdue our will, why does He ask us to choose (Joshua 24:15)? Calvin declared that "those who...seek for free-will in man...labour under manifold delusion." Yet Jesus said, "If any man will to do his [God's] will, he shall know" (John 7:17). God said to Israel, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured" (Isaiah 1:19–20). Why such language that clearly puts the responsibility on them, if no one in Israel could will unless God did the willing?

    "If ye offer a sacrifice...unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will" (Lev. 19.5). "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it" (saiah 1.19-20). If a person couldn't offer would not God have said so? That is sort of an important point to leave out. See Lev. 22.18; 23.38; Numb. 15.3; Deut. 12.6; 2 Chron. 31.14; Ps. 119.108. "Whosoever is of a willing heart" (Ex. 35.5); "who his spirt made willing" (v.21); "as many as were willing hearted" (v.22); "a heart with a willing mind" (1 Chron. 28.9; "who then is willing to consecrate his" (29.5); "offered willingly" (v.9); "I have willingly offered all these things" (v.17); "willingly offered himself utno the LORD" (2 Chron. 17.16); "princes gave willingly unto the people" (35.8). The NT contains many similar phrases: "The spirit indeed is willing (Matt. 26.41); "Pilate [was] willing (Luke 23.20); "Ye were willing" (John 5.35); "The centurian [was] willing" (Acts 27.43); "They were willing of themselves" (2 Cor. 8.3); "a willing mind" (v.12); "not by constraint, but willingly" (1 Pet. 5.2).

    Are we to believe that that these Scriptures actually mean either man has no will or God causes him to be willing? Calvinism treats man as a puppet that God makes willing, yet the Bible gives man credit for having a willing heart as though the willingness were his own. The judgment seat of Christ, His promised rewards, the Great White Throne judgment, and the lake of fire are meaningless if all is of God and nothing is from the heart of man. The many statements about the person being willing from his heart become nonsensical.

    (Debating Calvinism, pp. 336, 338-339, by Dave Hunt)