Yo Broo !
Soo
Calvinism… Yeah, it’s the big question about God sovereignty vs our freewill. And
we have to acknowledge God is sovereign, and we have free will! How do the two
work together? Nobody really knows.
So if you
remember Joseph’s story in Genesis 37-50, his brothers try to kill him, then
they sell him, in slavery, and at the end, Joseph acknowledges that it was God,
who had sent him to Egypt in order to save his family (Gen 50:20). So in a
mysterious way, the people were free to do what they wanted the whole time, and
God was still entirely sovereign!
I see it
this way for salvation as well. There is a dilemma, and no one can really solve
it! But extremes are dangerous. The Bible teaches that all those who are saved,
were chosen before they were born. But for everyone who is alive, we know that
all those who believe will be saved! So who was chosen? God knows! Who can
believe? Everyone is invited to believe! Extremes say: because God has already
chosen, there is no point in telling people about Jesus! (extreme Calvinism),
or the other side, I am better than those who are not saved, because I made the
right decision! They should have known better!
So I would
say: what Calvin holds is in scripture! (John 6:44, Mat 11:27, Ephesians 1:3-6,
Romans 9:11-23). But you cannot forget all the verses that seem to leave it
open for everyone who believes to be saved! (Romans 10:9,13, Acts 2:38, John
5:24).
When people
say: “it is not fair God chose some and not others.” I think what is not fair
is that God, chooses to save any at all, since we are all sinners! Grace:
getting something you do not deserve.
My big
conclusion is: there is a tension in scripture. We need to keep the tension in
our theology! (This topic has probably been the one that I’ve struggled with
most along the years). Hope this helps! Let me know if you want more! (but
sorry if you wanted a smaller answer!)
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