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.
