"But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
"Whereunto he called you by our gospel,
to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Thessalonians 2:1 3,14.
I said, "I know it may sound like it would be, "the flip side",
of unconditional election, however again I reiterate,
"double predestination",
gives the connotation of a positive action by God
of predestinating souls to hell.
"I don't think we can or should go there."
I'm getting into
Jonathan Edwards' Freedom of the Will
to try to figure out what the concerns are.
This is what I got so far as,
"double predestination",
gives the connotation of a positive action by God
of predestinating souls to hell.
from:
Predestination
"In short, though this particular treatise
was prompted by the challenge to Calvinism
so boldly promulgated by one Russell Reneau,
Mell’s real motivation issued from
his conviction that Arminianism
was really not just a different emphasis,
but a different gospel.
"The difference between traditional Arminianism
and traditional Calvinism
consists not in the supposition
that the former emphasized man’s part
and the latter God’s part;
in fact, both have much to say about the relative parts played
by the sinful creature and the holy creator.
"A positive difference in substance
forms the real impasse between the two.
"Arminianism assumes an equality of God’s grace
toward any number of sinners, some of which will be saved
and some of which will remain lost.
"Wherein lies the difference?
"Man’s choice becomes the deciding factor between heaven and hell.
"Therefore, in answer to Paul’s question,
"Who makes thee to differ from another?"
the Arminian, consistent with his system, must answer
"I do."
The Calvinist, however, states that salvation is truly of the Lord.
"Only a particular distinguishing grace
makes one sinner to differ from another.
"Grace consists not merely of a provision and offer of eternal life
but actually operates to make alive the dead sinner
and bring him to repentance and faith.
"The faith by which righteousness comes
is granted no less than the righteousness itself.
"Mell’s succinct statement of these truths
demonstrates a lucidity of thought and cogency of argument
few could parallel in his day, or since.
"Seeing election and reprobation
as only two particular manifestations
of the comprehensive sovereignty of God,
he expressed their essence and relationship in the following way.
"In reference to men,
Predestination is divided into two parts:
"1st, as it relates to the elect,
"and 2nd, as it relates to the non-elect.
"Having decreed to create a world, and to people it
with beings who would voluntarily sin against him,
he determined from eternity to save some,
and to leave others to perish in their sins.
"Willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known,"
he
"endured with much longsuffering"
these as
"the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on"
those as
"the vessels of mercy
which he had afore prepared unto glory." Rom 9:22,23.
"To carry out his purpose of grace,
he chose some to holiness and eternal life,
entered, for their sake,
into the Covenant of Redemption with the Son and the Holy Ghost,
appointed his Son as their substitute, to suffer in their stead,
and, having died to rise again
and appear as their advocate before his throne,
appointed all the intermediate means necessary,
and, by an infallible decree, made their salvation sure.
"Those,
"whose names are not written in the book of life" (Rev. 20:15),
who are
"appointed to wrath" (1 Thess 5:9),
who were
"before of old ordained to condemnation" (Jude 4)
who would
"stumble at the word, being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed" (1 Pet. 2:8),
he determined to leave in their sins
and to endure them with much longsuffering
as vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.
"While, by an immutable decree,
He has made all things in time fixed and sure,
all this occurs in perfect consistency
with the free agency of the creature,
and God is not the author of sin.—
"The elect are, by the influence of sovereign grace
made willing in the day of God’s power
"and those not elected
have no active principle of disobedience imparted to them,
and feel no restraint upon their wills—
"they are simply passed by,
and permitted to follow the inclinations of their own hearts."
"(Rev. P.H. Mell.
Predestination and the Saints’
Perseverance Stated and Defended Charleston:
Southern Baptist Publication Society. 1851, pp. 26-27.)"
