J.D. Hall says man's free will was lost because man's nature became Totally depraved. Did it? Of course not.
Leighton Flowers made a side comment about a video that I saw with him and Matt. J. Slick. Matt accused Leighton of idolatry because he claimed the Aseity of God is being violated if man has free will then later Matt Slick admitted that Adam had free will. He had to backtrack what he said.
Interesting side note: 80% of people who come to Christ do so before the age of 18. So it is very unlikely Matt Slick and J.D. Hall will ever give their lives to Christ.
When J.D. Hall asks who is the cause of salvation, he makes it sound bad that man is the cause of his salvation by accepting Christ. But he is conflating the salvation of God with man's free choice. They are separate.
It seems to me every issue that is brought up J.D. Hall is presupposing and predisposing determinism. This is called begging the question.
He brings up filthy rags. Of course all our doings are filthy rags that's why we need the cross. God is infinitely greater than us so of course we are filthy rags, but that doesn't mean God has not given us sufficient grace to have the free choice. Let's say your cat keeps eating the bird in the house or is always tearing up the carpet. That doesn't mean the cat does not have free will in her soul.
The Calvinist claims they were irresistibly selected. How great that is for them, but what does that do for anyone else? Shouldn't the roles be reversed since the Calvinist's assumption is false about himself. The Calvinist prides himself in this delusion. But God has enabled everyone to receive Christ so there is nothing to boast in since everyone can freely come to Christ. You can freely accept or reject a gift. It is not forced on you.
J.D. Hall says we are all responsible to respond to God. The thing is what the Calvinist really means by this is we are all Totally depraved and only they irresistibly selected responsibly respond to God because they are irresistibly made to. Now that is a weird definition of responsibility if I ever heard one. That in no way can be construed as having the free choice to responsibly respond to God since it is irresistibly imposed to be made allegedly responsible. That which is forced to be something it cannot refuse has nothing to do with the word "responsibility."
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Pet. 5.6). "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted" (Matt. 23.12). If our humbling ourselves was meritorious there would be no need for the cross.
J.D. Hall steals God's glory every chance he gets since it gives God glory to give us the free choice something the god of Calvinism is unable to do. The Calvinist is then giving glory to himself because he was irresistibly selected, lording himself over others he claims were born for Hell with no opportunity for salvation. If it is evil for us to behave this way towards one another how can God have lower standards than us?
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