Churchwork
05-31-2009, 12:36 AM
White wrote, "We know, naturally, that we are to have God's glory as our highest goal, our highest priority. So it should not be at all surprising that the most profound answer Scripture gives to the question of 'what's it all about' is that it is about God's glory. All of salvation results in the praise of the glory of His grace."
Those are nice words, but what does White actually mean? How can predestinating multitudes to eternal torment be to the glory of God's grace-and how even the salvation of the elect could glorify God if He could have done the same for all, but didn't?
The Bible teaches that those in hell will be there because, although God didn't want them to go there and lovingly provided and freely offered full salvation they reject it.
Considering this fact, to say God's sovereignty would be denied if man had a choice doesn't seem very tenable nor as foolproof as it once was to even the most staunch Calvinist. The Calvinist doubts his own salvation because he can never really know if he is saved, because it was never his choice. Calvin even said you can never really know except by working for your salvation and that "God causes some of the non-elect to imagine they have believed and are among the elect, the better to judge them." Are you sure you aren't just imagining you are one of the elect since it was not up to you, you didn't have a choice? But if you work for it you can maintain the salvation you think you have you might not in fact have. Hence, the perversion of "perseverance of the saints," not the osas arminian, God keeping "preservation of the saints."
Couldn't God make a sovereign decision to allow man free will? Take a look at what this critic of Calvinism says:
What takes the greater power (omnipotence): to create beings who have no ability to choose-who are mere pawns on God's cosmic chessboard-or to create beings who have the freedom to accept or reject God's salvation? I submit the latter.... Would a God who ordained the existence of immortal beings without making any provision for them to escape eternal torment be a cruel being? What kind of God would call on mankind to "believe and be saved" when He knows they cannot [and] what kind of relationship is there between God and people who could never choose Him-but are "irresistibly" called...? For these and other reasons I question the idea that individual unconditional election and five-point Calvinism best reflect the attributes [and attitude] of God. A God who sovereignly offers salvation to all through His elect Savior reflects both power and love.
Should we merely only question the idea? I see no other explanation than James White does worship the Devil and very well may know it. He knows exactly what he is doing and is getting off on deceiving people. One reason to suspect this is man is very talented. He can concoct many lies and weave many untruths into a seemingly coherent palatable explanation. Just think of Enron to name but one example. For the sake of money, Christianity doesn't sell as well unless you can add in something that lets people hold onto their flesh and still think they are saved.
However much power, evil or otherwise, it may take to create people for the purpose of sending them to hell or save them irresistibly, does it not take greater power to create man to be able to have the choice to receive or resist God's grace for salvation? And thus, God of the Bible is greater than the God of Calvinism.
When going over the many reasons why Calvinism is wrong, James White doesn't have a conscience to intuit and reason out why, even after the reason is clear laid out. He will, like Joseph Dillow, find some way, however absurd, to rationalize it away. Hence, he does not have the Holy Spirit in his spirit, because he has never been regenerated. He has never been regenerated, not because he has never been regenerated, but because he refuses to repent (whether he thinks he can or not) to and believe (whether he thinks he can or not) by faith (receiving this gift from God) in Christ to be regenerated/saved/born-again by the grace of God. This is called "resistible grace." And we see it witnessed in James White. Instead of genuine repentance and belief, he requires it be imposed upon him without the choice. His choice to refuse to have the choice is a choice to refuse God.
Praise the Lord for this discernment. May these words help lead James White to Christ.
Those are nice words, but what does White actually mean? How can predestinating multitudes to eternal torment be to the glory of God's grace-and how even the salvation of the elect could glorify God if He could have done the same for all, but didn't?
The Bible teaches that those in hell will be there because, although God didn't want them to go there and lovingly provided and freely offered full salvation they reject it.
Considering this fact, to say God's sovereignty would be denied if man had a choice doesn't seem very tenable nor as foolproof as it once was to even the most staunch Calvinist. The Calvinist doubts his own salvation because he can never really know if he is saved, because it was never his choice. Calvin even said you can never really know except by working for your salvation and that "God causes some of the non-elect to imagine they have believed and are among the elect, the better to judge them." Are you sure you aren't just imagining you are one of the elect since it was not up to you, you didn't have a choice? But if you work for it you can maintain the salvation you think you have you might not in fact have. Hence, the perversion of "perseverance of the saints," not the osas arminian, God keeping "preservation of the saints."
Couldn't God make a sovereign decision to allow man free will? Take a look at what this critic of Calvinism says:
What takes the greater power (omnipotence): to create beings who have no ability to choose-who are mere pawns on God's cosmic chessboard-or to create beings who have the freedom to accept or reject God's salvation? I submit the latter.... Would a God who ordained the existence of immortal beings without making any provision for them to escape eternal torment be a cruel being? What kind of God would call on mankind to "believe and be saved" when He knows they cannot [and] what kind of relationship is there between God and people who could never choose Him-but are "irresistibly" called...? For these and other reasons I question the idea that individual unconditional election and five-point Calvinism best reflect the attributes [and attitude] of God. A God who sovereignly offers salvation to all through His elect Savior reflects both power and love.
Should we merely only question the idea? I see no other explanation than James White does worship the Devil and very well may know it. He knows exactly what he is doing and is getting off on deceiving people. One reason to suspect this is man is very talented. He can concoct many lies and weave many untruths into a seemingly coherent palatable explanation. Just think of Enron to name but one example. For the sake of money, Christianity doesn't sell as well unless you can add in something that lets people hold onto their flesh and still think they are saved.
However much power, evil or otherwise, it may take to create people for the purpose of sending them to hell or save them irresistibly, does it not take greater power to create man to be able to have the choice to receive or resist God's grace for salvation? And thus, God of the Bible is greater than the God of Calvinism.
When going over the many reasons why Calvinism is wrong, James White doesn't have a conscience to intuit and reason out why, even after the reason is clear laid out. He will, like Joseph Dillow, find some way, however absurd, to rationalize it away. Hence, he does not have the Holy Spirit in his spirit, because he has never been regenerated. He has never been regenerated, not because he has never been regenerated, but because he refuses to repent (whether he thinks he can or not) to and believe (whether he thinks he can or not) by faith (receiving this gift from God) in Christ to be regenerated/saved/born-again by the grace of God. This is called "resistible grace." And we see it witnessed in James White. Instead of genuine repentance and belief, he requires it be imposed upon him without the choice. His choice to refuse to have the choice is a choice to refuse God.
Praise the Lord for this discernment. May these words help lead James White to Christ.