Featured Single Predestination

Single predestination is a logical inconsistency. Some calvinists try to flower it up and say God simply just passes over individuals and lets them remain in their sin, but there is a problem with that. The problem is that is still an active choice by God to not draw that person.

 

The idea of single or double predestination is one that is created by men. God just tells us that He predestined. Some are chosen to be found in Christ. Some are left in their trespasses and sins. God chooses not to redeem them. As Supreme King, God makes that choice and our judgment about that choice is empty whining.
Truth is that those who remain in rebellion will never concede. Those who are dragged to surrender (drawn) are brought their against their natural will. However, upon being redeemed they realize how blind and foolish they have been. Repentance and renewal begin and continue unto eternity. Our freedom is our dependence on Christ. We move from slavery to sin to slavery to God. Our ears are pierced.

 

Revelation 13
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every [d]tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The verse that says, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world in Revelation 13, shows that the fall in Eden must have been preordained by God, as Adam was not yet born and therefore had not yet sinned to need a savior. The worlds foundation would have been the creation of the earth, and Adam was not in existence yet, before there was any sin in the universe.

Revelation 17
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

It is implied in Rev 17 that the names of those God saves were all of them written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. And with that Ephesians 1 and 2 confirms. The beast worshippers marvel after the beast and conform their life into following him as their names were never written down in the Book of Life from the beginning. Because of this they were marked out for condemnation, simply by not being recorded in the Book of Life.

The names of the saved were written down before they were born, before they had done anything either good or bad. The reason for this is so that God's calling according to election, as in His choice of who would be saved would be true.

 

Adam chose to disobey God. Adam fell into the well of sin from which he could not save himself nor Eve who fell with him. All the offspring of Adam's race were born in the well with no means of escape.
God is just and right if he chooses to leave all of Adam's race to die in their sins. This is a predestined reality for all humanity because of Adam's sin.
God, however, chooses to save some from the well of sin and pluck them out. These whom God saves are predestined to be saved from before the foundation of the world.
Some call that double predestination. God has no term described for this reality. It is simply the process God has chosen. And no amount of human whining will change what God has chosen to do.
Therefore, the entire bickering between single or double predestination is a moot point with me. God simply does as he wills and we live with that choice as created beings.

 

That thinking disallows God's provisions to draw everyone and everyone is allowed to resist.

Titus 2:11, ". . . For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, . . ."

Acts of the Apostles 7:51, ". . . Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. . . ."

Romans 2:11-16, ". . . For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; ) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. . . ."

Revelation 22:11, ". . . He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. . . ."

Revelation 20:15, ". . . And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. . . ."

Our interpertation what ever it maybe, will not change the sovereign will of our God. Proverbs 21:30, "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD."

What ever the truth is, is what I want to believe. But alas none of us can believe what one fails to understand.

 

ivdavid, I have very much considered the doctrine of soteriology. I grew up with Arminian teaching. It was through extensive reading of the Bible that I came to my understanding. It was after this that someone labeled me a Calvinist...even though I haven't read any of John Calvin's writings.
So, if you imagine I am harsh and you don't like my use of terms, I can live with that. I once was a whiner and got upset with people who seemed to be denying all humanity the chance to be saved. I was ignorant to the fact that Reformed theology is actually very missional and has spread the gospel throughout the world.
So, yeah, I have thought long and hard on the subject of salvation.

 

I don't believe that is what the bible teaches.

 

Upon reading this again, I see that you focus on mercy, but never mention grace.
God is merciful, for a season, to all humanity. If he were not merciful, all humanity would be dead. But, God is merciful to the redeemed and the damned, the sheep and the goats, while we walk this earth.
The difference is not in mercy, the difference is in grace. It is grace, unmerited favor, that God extends to the elect, by his choice. God does not extend this saving grace to the damned. His unmerited favor is withheld, by His choice. We have no idea why God chooses to extend saving grace to some, but not to all. This is where God shows no obligation to reveal his reasoning for his choice. We must simply accept that he chooses according to his own unrevealed purpose.
All humans are shown mercy for a season, but grace is extended only to the elect.

 

I don't see the 'logical fallacy' to a very plain meaning derived directly from Scripture:

Romans 9:20-23 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

2 Peter 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
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Unless I am mistaken, I see many things here that are only made for damnation.

I think the 'logical fallacy' only happens with too much Sophistry; based mostly on speculation, and a lack of Scriptural support.

 

Your question looks like a re-wording of a type of 'free-will' salvation; arguing for an 'elect' individual to obtain their salvation. It's not harmonious with Calvinism and is yet another level of Arminianism.

'they must self-determine': Then man does not have total depravity?

'to endure in through faith': The personal ''Holiness' movement? As you are arguing that man must 'self-determine' it. Or, they can 'lose their salvation'?
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It's all so ambiguous despite being over-loaded with terms. I'm not sure as to what you are arguing for.
The 'non-elect' will always be the 'non-elect'.

 

Since a fallen man is locked into sinfulness, and God says the soul that sins shall die, then they can never have eternal life, unless Christ is their saviour who takes away their sin.
The wrath of God abides on those who do not believe, their sins remain and they die in their sins.

You will find people who strongly dislike any kind of calvinist thinking will also not like whatsoever any kind of electing grace resulting in some being predestined even if it is just singular predestination. They just reject that, you see it all on all the forums and hear it in what they say. You can not bring the various sides into agreement through any kind of logical thought.

I have even heard preachers claim that unbelieving people goto hell with their sins fully forgiven- fully paid for because of what Christ did on the cross, which is a heresy. Unbelievers sins remain on them.

But if you do not believe then Christ says you die in your sins, which means there is no forgiveness, you do not have the atonement of your sins.
There is a lot of emotional baggage tying people up in false doctrines.

People who are of the world die in their sins.

John 8:23-24 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”