Originally posted by JackRUS:
And Calvinism has no answers for Isa. 66:2; Acts 7:51; 2 Pet. 3:9; Mt. 23:37; 1 John 2:2; Josh. 24:15; & Prov. 1:29 that I can think off right of my head.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist," Says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
Calvinists have no problem with this verse. Does it say
how one comes to have a poor and contrite spirit and to tremble at His word?
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
I'm not sure what the problem is here. This is exactly what Calvinists say. Mankind, left to themselves, always resist. That is because they are uncircumcised in heart. It is not until God circumcises the heart that anyone stops resisting.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Classical Calvinist answer: God must have two wills - a will of desire and a will of decree. Actually, you have to say this as well, because not everyone gets saved. So this "willing" cannot be God's will of decree, which the Bible is clear exists.
Other possible answer: Who is God longsuffering towards? Us. Who is us? Either those who already believe or those who will believe. God does not return in judgement yet because the full number of the elect have not been brought in yet. Personally, I think the first answer is better, but this one can't be ignored based on context.
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
Again, God desires people to respond to Him correctly, but because of their sinful nature, they do not. This is Calvinism 101. Unless God regenerates, they do not believe.
1 John 2:2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
It does not say "He is the possible propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also possibly for the whole world." It says, "He IS the propitiation." You either must figure that propitiation does not mean satisfaction of God's wrath (which it does mean) or that "world" doesn't mean "every person who has ever lived," which it doesn't always mean. I believe, in this context, it means both Jews and Gentiles, every nation under heave, every tribe, every tongue, the whole world.
The question you need to answer about this verse is that if God's wrath has been satisfied by the death of Christ on behalf of every person who has ever lived, why does He still punish them in the lake of fire for all eternity?
Joshua 24:15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
The choice is out there. And every day, men choose incorrectly. They are dead in their tresspasses and sins. Calvinism does not deny this, but rather biblically explains why men choose to reject God and serve the gods of their fathers.
Proverbs 1:29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD
This seems like a good proof-text for the 1st point of Calvinism - Total Depravity.
Honestly, we've answered these verses over and over again so many times it is getting ridiculous. We love these verses. I used to throw these same Scriptures (John 3:16 included) at Calvinists all day until I became one.
