ivdavid,
Hello David,
Lets walk through it...
This is a nice reference. So when was the door shut on the non-elect by God - before the foundation of the world,
Make no mistake about it.
All election by God takes place before the world was. 2tim1;
9 Who hath
saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our works,
but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Scripture said once the door was built as the Ark was being prepared, the long-suffering of God lasted for 120 years..
Gen3
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
2pet3;
5 For
this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old,
and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, w
hich are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness
; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God tells us He was longsuffering with the wicked, because He was not willing that one of the elect seed should perish....
Because we have God in Scriptures revealing His desire for the non-elect to enter in the door and live.
Is this God revealing His desire for the non-elect???
7
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air;
for it repenteth me that I have made them.
While the door was open, until God shut it....no where does it say God desired any of the world of the ungodly to enter at that time.
If people wanted to repent even now God will save them. we are told why Noah did;
8
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Heb11:
7 By faith Noah,
being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;
by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
This would be perfectly fine if God shut the door after His expressing this conditional desire
I do not see any conditional desire at all. God says I am going to destroy man. But Noah found grace.
If you want to find answers stick to the text.
and man's rejecting it in unbelief as seen in Matt 23:37[/QUOTE].
This is different completely. They were not willing to let the children come to Jesus by their false teaching.
However, this would be contradictory of God to desire them to enter the door that He has already shut before the ages.
Again, Election was before time and certain. Anyone in heaven would have been elected by God. There are no non elect persons in heaven.
Anyone who suggests any such idea does not understand biblical salvation.
The door was open, they had no interest in it.
[QUOTE
]Calvinism implies that this decree was done before the ages - how does it explain away the contradiction then?
Reformed gave a solid explanation to you. There is no contradiction at all. David, a perfect all knowing God does not make mistakes or contradictions.