In Reformed
theology, God commands all people, without distinction, to repent and believe
the Gospel but (1) ordained that only
the elect will be able to repent and believe and (2) withholds even the ability
of the non-elect to obey the command to repent and believe (God commands the
impossible for the vast majority of humanity). To see how preposterous this is,
consider the following from James White in his 2010
Robert Sungenis: Does God call the whole human race to repentance?
James White: Yes, God calls all men, everywhere, to repent; that's Acts chapter 17.
Robert Sungenis: Okay. Does God give only certain people the ability to repent?
James White: Yes; His elect. (beginning at the 1:38:53 mark)
In his 1882 book on the Holy Spirit, George Smeaton (1814-1889) wrote that unbelief is "criminal." However, do notice that, in the following, he never addresses the problem of God being the one who foreordained, in the eternal past, such unbelief, and how no one, except the elect at the time God predestined to irresistibly call them, can respond to the call to believe(!):
Let me briefly notice the several objects in
reference to which the Spirit yields His convincing influence.
1. The first object is UNBELIEF, the sin of
contravening and rejecting the proposals of the gospel. The Redeemer, the true interpreter
of His own words, subjoined what sin He meant when He added: “In respect to the
act that they believe not on me.” The explanation by the Lord Himself refutes
the opinion of Piscator and others, that the allusion is to His crucifixion by
the Jews, as well as another opinion that the expression must be generally
understood of every sin committed. These interpreters are all of the class who
hold that the verb which we render “convince” must have the meaning of “reprove,”
and will not admit the exegetical or specifying force of the particle (οτι), which we have rendered “in
respect to the fact that.” But the Lord’s meaning is express, pointing to the
sin of unbelief, which, abstractly considered, is a violation of a divine
command and, concretely considered is a refusal to accept the merits of a
divine Redeemer.
To understand the criminality of unbelief, it may be remarked that it contracts
guilt from the law, as the latter pronounces condemnation generally on all
disobedience to the expressed will of God. The law may be taken in a twofold
way—that is, as having a general and a special use. The first table of the law condemn generally all unbelief toward the
word of God, and charges it as sin. (George Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit [London: The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1958], 176-77, emphasis in bold added)
In other words, God charges people with the sin of unbelief, notwithstanding his infallibly predestinating them to remain in unbelief, and commanding the impossible as he withholds the ability to believe from them (ultimately, God is the author of the sin of unbelief!) Such is the nonsense that is Calvinism.
For a fuller discussion of Reformed theology, see:
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology
