Monday, June 1, 2015

Freewill, Predestination, and Salvation in the Bible

It is common for many Calvinists to cite Rom 9 as definitive evidence of Reformed soteriology. One common text that has been used in favour of this theology is Rom 9:22:

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.

Many Reformed apologists use this verse as alleged biblical proof that God predestines people to salvation as well as reprobates others to damnation, as opposed to "preterition," wherein God is active only in election; passive in damnation.

However, when one examines the underlying Greek of this verse, one will find that the phrase translated as "fitted to destruction" is κατηρτισμενα, which is the perfect passive participle form of καταρτιζω, "to mend/fit/perfect." The use of the passive voice refutes the idea that God takes an active role in reprobation.

A related verse is that of John 1:12:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Both ελαβον ("received") and πιστευουσιν ("believe") are in the active voice, denoting the personal decision of the individual, as opposed to the passive which would mean that they were made (by God's infallible decree, a la Reformed theology) to receive and believe.

In trying to stress the sovereignty of God, Reformed theology has made God an impotent deity who cannot allow genuine free-will among humans to accomplish His goals. Notice the following confession from a well-known and respected Reformed author:

If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the grand and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us. If a grain of sand in the kidney of Oliver Cromwell changed the course of English history, so our maverick molecule could change the course of all redemption history. Maybe that one molecule will be the thing that prevents Christ from returning. (R.C. Sproul, Chosen by God [rev ed.: Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1986], 16).

Compare and contrast with the following text:

Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord. (Zech 1:3; cf. 3:7; Mal 3:7; John 6:40, etc).

The Hebrew term translated as “turn” is שׁוב; the LXX translates it as επιστρεφω; both these terms in the Hebrew OT and LXX refers to turning back to God/repentance. (e.g., 1 Kgs 8:33, 35) as well as Yahweh turning back to His people/averting His wrath against sin (e.g., Zech 1:16). In this verse, and many other texts, God turning back to His people is contingent upon his people turning back to Him, not vice versa, showing that genuine free-will is part-and-parcel of the “salvation formula,” not mere compatibilist freedom. The conception of deity one finds with "Mormonism" is a potent deity who allows people to have genuine free-will to accept or reject the gospel, and yet will be victorious at the end of times; the Calvinist understanding of God is an impotent, blasphemous deity, who calls everyone to repentance and yet actively withholds the ability to all but a small few the ability to come to faith, and such is required so he can achieve his goals. One concept is a truly sovereign concept of God; the other is an anti-biblical blasphemy--I will let readers decide which one is which.




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