Four Point Calvinism

Since this debate is if the Bible supports Calvinism, I will address what few Scriptures you’ve used in this debate and then expand on the entirety of Scripture so I don’t look like I’m “cherry picking.” Furthermore, if you examine the context of my verses they will only encourage my point. Scripture has to be interpreted with the rest of Scripture otherwise you lose its credibility. Also, this debate is not on your contestable subjective definition of “good” or “love” but rather the sovereignty of God in salvation. Exodus 32:12-14; so does this contradict Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29? The answer is simple, God’s repentance is not as man’s repentance. Man’s repentance involves a change of mind, but God’s repentance is a pre-determined change of action. How else do you reconcile these verses without ruining the credibility of the Bible? Also, most translations say in this verse God either “relented,” or God “repented.” The word in Hebrew is a general reference to “comfort self” which leads plenty of room for interpretation. (Strong’s Concordance) John 1:12-13; we know that this verse brazenly says “not of the will of man” but rather the “will of God.” How can you than interpret it as the will of man? Let’s interpret this with the rest of Scripture. Romans 9:16 says “So than it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy” and if you look at the context, it furthers what I’m saying. Now what is the intended meaning of “not of the flesh?” John 3 (which is in the same context) says in verse 6 that “whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.” So Jesus differentiates those who are in the flesh, and those who are in the Spirit in the same context of John’s Gospel. Meaning that it is not the will of the degenerate man, but rather the will of God. Furthermore, this is affirmed throughout Scripture in texts such as 1 Corinthians 2:14 which reads “But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.” Jesus affirmed this in the same Gospel when He said “However, there are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.) Then Jesus said, This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.“ (John 6.64-65). Jesus than says in the same Gospel that those who do not believe, do not believe because they are not His sheep (John 10.26-27). So, if belief is the result of being God’s sheep, how than does one become a sheep? The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:29-30 “those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.” Notice God conformed those He foreknew in the likeness of His son; rather than foreknowing them because they were conformed to His son. Furthermore, we see that He justifies those that He calls in His predestination. Ultimately leading to the conclusion that we are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2.10). So at face value it means God’s will. At further examination it still means God’s will. Your righteousness which is regarded as menstrual rags to God (Isaiah 64.6) does not make Him love you. You can’t even love God apart from Him enabling you to (1 John 4:10,19-20). In fact the Apostle Paul writes that those who love God, were “called according to His purpose” (Romans 8.28). That is the point of grace. There is nothing good in us, but God demonstrated His love regardless to us not deserving it. God’s love was manifested even more so by our heinous behavior. Paul writes “It is rare indeed for anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5.7-8). Our unworthiness of God’s love demonstrates even more His mercy and love. Hate is a feeling, God’s love is in despite of those feelings. His election is not based on who we are, but rather it is based on God’s divine purpose. In fact we were “enemies of God” when Christ redeemed us (Romans 5.10). As John Newton recounts "Ah! sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards." Charles Spurgeon adds to this by saying: if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine. A brazen example of God’s sovereignty is in Acts 13:48 which reads “When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.” How else can you interpret this than God’s election? The only reason they believed, was because they were appointed to eternal life by God. Therefore, belief is the outcome of God’s election, just as works are an outcome of God’s election, and just as our desire for God’s will is an outcome of God’s election. Even on the fundamental level of “who is born to who” we see God’s election in action. For many have died without ever having the opportunity to hear the Gospel. And, if it is not necessary to hear the Gospel as Romans 10:14 tells us, why send out missionaries to people who have never heard if their rejection of the Gospel would end up condemning them? God has desired to impart His grace through the means of His people. You say “He wants you to want to wash the dishes not just wash the dishes” but the Bible is clear that God changes our desires. Those who are elected to His will, love doing His will because God implanted that desire in them. Just as God did for Israel “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 36.26-27). God makes us love Him. Man does not “fake” righteousness, rather God makes man righteous through the work of His Holy Spirit. It is important to note: just because man cannot follow or choose God from his own will, does not mean man has no will. Rather it means man has a limited will. That is, man can choose sin, can choose wickedness, evil, works, or even religious activity. But he will never choose the one and only God for the right reasons, or in the right way from the flesh. So when man sins is it God’s will? No, it is man’s will. Though, any good thing done out of love is by God’s will because it is written “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4.19). And since God is love, man can only truly love by God’s indwelling Spirit. So all credit of unrighteousness goes to the flesh of man. All credit for righteousness goes to God. Does a blind man ‘will’ himself to see? Does a deaf man ‘will’ himself to hear? Does a dead man ‘will’ himself to life? These are the comparisons God has given to those who don’t believe. It is only by a healer that the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead rise. Likewise Jesus said “unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3.5). If one must be born of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God, how does one become spirit, if 1 Corinthians 2:14 says “the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.” Your defense is against Jonah who heard from God directly and was bent to do God’s will by the demonstration of God’s power over a fish? The Apostle Paul who was divinely shown the power of God through Jesus? Why not also contest God’s sovereignty in revealing Himself in power through a burning bush to a murderer? Do you think Saul, Jonah or Moses would’ve been saved apart from God’s power? Those examples are working against you. Do you think Israel would’ve been obedient if God wasn’t constantly reminding Israel that “I am with you” in the book of Joshua? In the absence of God’s presence, man degrades himself to sinfulness. Do you think Adam and Eve would’ve sinned had God been standing there with them? But we see God walked with them daily, yet was searching for them after they sinned. That is not to blame God for their sin, but rather it is to show that man is only good in the presence of God, and God desires to show His mercy not on any basis of who we are, but on the basis of His goodness, His love, and His righteousness. It is truly an underserved gift. A final thought on Adam and Eve only falling away because of temptation. If a being who is good will not do evil unless tempted; why then, did Satan fall away? Did God create evil? Did God create something imperfectly? And when God made Satan was He ignorant to what Satan would do? If so, than how did God foreknow He was going to have elect from before the foundation of the world? (Ephesians 1.4)