So, I'm slugging my way through trying to understand Calvinism. I know there's an acronym called TULIP that espouses the views of Calvinism. The "I" stands for "Irresistible Grace." In essence, it means: "God makes man willing to come to Him. When God calls, man responds." Ok, well, the problem I have with that concept is that it actually contradicts itself. If God is making man come to Him, man isn't actually coming willingly. For man truly to be coming willingly, man would have to choose, on his own, to come to God. After all, anytime you're made to do anything, you're, by definition, not doing it willingly. According to Calvinism, man is unable to come to God by himself. Man is so corrupt that he literally has no good in himself, to any degree, and cannot choose, or even desire, to follow or seek after God on his own, of his own choosing. In essence, Calvinism, as I see it, is contradicting itself in it's own theology. Any adherents to Calvinism here (TrustGzus, teddyv) willing to indicate why this isn't so?
While I have been raised in a Reformed tradition, I am not really one to give you the proper answers regarding Calvinism. I have not delved in the finer points of the systematic theology (I have Calvin's Institutes but have not read through them completely). TG is far more familiar with the theology and I'm sure he'll be able chime in at some point.
I'm still not a Calvinist, so to provide a perspective from the outside, at least as far as the contradiction itself is concerned. You could consider this a kind of 'aha!' moment, where Christ (through the Holy Spirit) makes His truth so obvious to the individual that he chooses willingly have faith in Christ. You could take 'God makes man willing' to mean that Christ regenerates (is that the word I'm looking for?) some aspect of the individual, such that he is able to actually choose God (an impossibility prior to the working of the Holy Spirit), not that God is making the individual, i.e., forcing the individual, into such-and-such decision.
I would reckon the one thing that ties me together with my Sovereign Grace brethren is eternal security or what they coin as Perseverance of the Saints. That and church governance are to the two most common things I have with that side of the offering plate.
Even non Calvinists believe that sinful man is wholly Mabel to respond to God's call with God first providing grace to do so. We only differ from Calvin in the frog hair splitting of "how" that works. God doesn't seem to share our theological confusion on the issue, thankfully
So, if I was "incapable" of repentance on my own and "incapable" of seeking God on my own, why was I able to feel remorse and a need for God when I was cheating on my wife? We even eventually started going to church and became Christians out of the whole experience.
You assume your conclusion. Why do you think you felt remorse apart from the Holy Spirit? If the Psalmist and Paul both say that no one seems God, why do you think when you started seeking that he hadn't done something to your heart already? Why do you attribute those good things to Aaron?
Because I consciously recall thinking to myself, "This is wrong of me to do. I'm hurting my wife. I'm being a total scumbag. If there is a God (was agnostic at that point), I'm committing sin against Him, too." It all felt like it was coming from within my own thoughts and feelings.
I'll use myself as an example. There have been times when an event has been hard for me to understand. I can have three different people explain the same event three different ways and I still won't get it. Then a fourth person, perhaps even someone I don't know, will casually get right to the point and make it perfectly clear. At the right time, the right place, and the right way. God knows our heart, even when we don't know Him. He knows not only what we need to hear, but how to hear it. There are no "chance" meetings. When God is in control, everything is at His disposal. Everything is orchestrated (distractions, flat tires, slow traffic) so each individual has found himself in a place in time with that opportunity to know God. He "draws" us to Him, not by imposition, but rather, awareness. He simply presents Himself to you. What do we "do"? Either choose to submit to Him, or turn away. In case this sounds like I'm saying thi is a once in a lifetime opportunity, let me clarify. I believe that as long as someone is sucking air, God reveals Himself to the unbeliever. There will be NO excuses.
I stand as witness, evidence, and testimony that Preservation of the Saints (if I understand it correctly as OSAS) is wrong.
Alas, they would say that you were never counted among the saints - that you were trying to be someone you weren't.
Being tenacious about your belief of unbelief is not even close to sin. If God hasn't removed your name from the book of life, your only defense is, "My bad". I'm going on 67 yrs now, so I think I'm safe in saying, "I'll save ya a seat"
Can you tell me what you get out of the following verses hisleast? Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Just curious. If need be, we can take that thought to another thread.
I suspect its telling us people who have "truly" found the kingdom of heaven will do an "all in" bet. The Merchant feels the pearl will appreciate in value enough to justify leveraging all his/her capital. The merchant's confidence is so strong, that they'll leverage everything. I do not believe that verse in any way supports the idea of eternal security, as in real life merchants get it wrong *often*. Or sometimes they get it right, but not at the right time. Or sometimes they're flat out swindled. (link to wikipedia's article on the Dutch Tulip Madness of the 16th century)
I hadn't considered reading it that way, so thank you for the new take. As much as I appreciate the new perspective, I still don't read any permanence into it.
Sorry, let me clear up my thoughts. We are both. Merchant and merchandise. The Holy Spirit would be the broker taking, or in this case, leading U.S. To market. Jesus purchases us, at a price, or again in this case, the value that God approves of paying for our purchase. God then, sets us free. As free men, we may choose to stay, or walk away. One thing is certain. We do not have the power to enslave ourselves again.
I found an article that you may find useful. http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-we-believe-about-the-five-points-of-calvinism#History