The "Spiritually Dead" Hear and Believe

That the unsaved, dead in trespasses and in sins, can be reasoned with and can understand and believe the gospel unto salvation is clear from many passages such as the following: "Knowing...the terror of the Lord, we persuade [unsaved] men" (2 Cor. 5.11); "and he reasoned in the synagogue [with unregenerated men]...and persuaded the [unregenerated] Jews and Greeks [to believe]" (Acts 18.4); "he mightily convinced the [unregenerated] Jews...shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ (Acts 18.28); and so forth.

Not only these scriptures, but many more like them, clearly teach that we are to use reason and Scripture in order to convince the spiritually lost that they need a Savior. The Holy Spirit uses the persuasion of God's Word, which is "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4.12), to convict the lost and bring them to Christ. To be reasoned with, persuaded, and convinced, a person must understand the arguments and believe the truth that they convey. Clearly, then, the unregenerate can believe on Christ prior to their regeneration--or persuading them would be a fruitless effort.

God said to the unbelieving and rebellious children of Israel, most of whom refused to respond, "Come now, and let us reason together...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." (Is. 1.18). If Calvinism were true, God would be wasting His time and effort reasoning with spiritually dead Israelites who could no more respond to the truth than a corpse could give itself a blood transfusion. And if the only way they could repent and believe unto eternal life was by Irresistible Grace to sovereignly regenerate them, why would He plead and warn while withholding the only means whereby those He addressed could respond?

According to Calvinism, God should have first regenerated the "elect" among Israel, and only then could He have reasoned with them to any spiritual benefit. But the Bible tells us otherwise.

From these scriptures as well as many other similar passages in the Bible, one would never conclude that God overwhelms the elect sinners with Irresistible Grace to regenerate them first and then give them faith to believe. On the contrary, He calls upon them to repent and sends His prophets to warn and persuade them.

The very fact that Paul, Apollos, and the other early evangelists expended themselves in persuading men to believe the gospel is completely contrary to the concept of Total Depravity, Irresistible Grace, and regeneration before faith. Paul was not aware of the principles Calvin would extract from his epistles 1,500 years later. But if he was, he certainly did his best by the Holy Spirit to disallow any such notions from Calvinism. And Jesus, He kept urging the unregenerate to come to Him, and from the cross, asked His Father to forgive the very rebels who crucified and mocked Him.

Let us continue to pray to Calvinists to help lead them to Christ.

"Limited" Irresistible Grace?

God has infinite love, mercy, and grace towards all, and not willing that any should perish. Calvinism, however, limits God's grace and mercy. Christ was asked whether few would be saved, and He stated that indeed there would be few (Matt. 7.13-14; Luke 13.23-28)--not because God limits His grace, but because so few are willing to repent and believe the gospel; indeed, Christ continually urged men to enter the path to eternal life. Calvinists boldly admit they did not repent or even believe to come to regeneration.

Why do Calvinists avoid these verses so much? Because they contradict Calvinism. Christ very clearly puts upon the unregenerate the responsibility of entering the kingdom. "Enter ye in at the straight gate...straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7.14).

These are very un-Calvinistic terms. Why should Christ gives such a warning if one could only come into the kingdom through having been predestined to salvation and sovereignly regenerated, without any understanding, repentance, or faith?

John Calvin admits what "mercy...illuminates God's grace by this contrast: that he...gives to some what he denies to others." God illuminates His grace by not extending it to multitudes!? Somehow, by limiting His grace, God enlarges our appreciation of the wellspring from which His mercy flows!? And we are to praise Him all the more because He gives only to some that which He could extend to all? This is Calvinism.

Imagine a man in a barge, surrounded by a thousand desperate people who have no life jackets and who can keep themselves afloat in the icy water for only a few more minutes. This man has the means of saving every one of them from a watery grave, and more than enough room and complete provisions on the barge for them all. He plucks only 150 from certain death, leaving the rest to drown because it pleased him to do so.

The next day, would the newspapers have banner headlines praising this man for being so kind, gracious, and merciful because he rescued 150 and left 850 to die--or even if he rescued 850 and left to their fate only 150, whom he could have saved? Hardly. By the conscience God has given to even those who think they were "totally depraved" and now regenerated as Calvinists, even they would condemn such despicable behavior. So why have this standard for God that differs from your own for the only reason being that you don't want to have to repent to the cross and believe in Christ to be regenerated?

No one with any sense of morals that God has imprinted upon every conscience could praise such a man for leaving anyone to drown he could have saved.

Yet we are suppose to believe that God refrains from rescuing billions whom He just as well could have saved? And we are to praise Him all the more for having limited His love, mercy, and grace? Such is the teaching of Calvinism!

The Libel Against God Clearly Stated

Sense the pompous unloving arrogance when Piper writes, "We will entrust ourselves to mercy alone. In the hope of glory we will extend this mercy to others that they may see our good deeds and give glory to our Father in heaven."

Why should the elect's good deeds cause those who have been predestined to eternal doom give glory to Calvinism's God, who closed the door of salvation to them and from the beginning were never given any hope? And how can the elect be concerned for those for whom God has no concern? Any blessings in this life are nullified by an eternity of torment for them.

Why should a Calvinist be merciful to anyone except other Calvinist elect, for it is only these whom it pleases their God to be merciful to? He hates everyone else, because He made them that way. He must hate Himself then for doing so.

John MacArthur ludicrously states that since God gives to the non-elect sunshine and rain and temporal blessings they should be grateful in this brief life prior to burning in Hell for all eternity. Only a Calvinist could possibly think in such terms! Would we commend the grace and love of a mass murderer who always gives a hearty meal to his victims just before he tortures and kills them? Ah, but God is sovereign and the clay can't complain about what the potter has made of it.

The real issue is not God's sovereignty as God is more than just His sovereignty. The issue is God's mercy and grace motivated by love. Calvinism's limited and irresistible "grace" is not grace at all.