Such is a false dichotomy.
To me, it's a very accurate dichotomy.
Just because a person decides he wants God’s mercy, after God has offered it, doesn’t mean he is somehow forcing God to do something He doesn’t want.
Respectfully,
I think that you're misunderstanding the question and the subject as a whole.
God doesn't offer anything.
He makes
promises, and only those to whom the promises were made are going to experience the end result.
For example, if someone truly believes on Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, it wasn't because we "took Him up on His offer".
It's because the objects of His grace received those gifts and promises from Him because of His love for them.
But you’ve confirmed for me that the real answer to this perpetual argument between Calvinists and Arminians is in discarding unsupported presuppositions—specifically the one that says God knows who is going to be saved before the people exist.
The real answer is found in God's word.
To me, when a person studies the Scriptures for themselves over a long period of time, one either continues to see salvation as an "offer" with "conditions" that need to be met before the offer can be accepted,
Or one comes to see that salvation is a completely unmerited gift, and that God saves someone apart from any "conditions"...
With God either knowing who will believe, or God's "knowing" equaling His loving them and giving them His gifts based on His completely unmerited favor upon them as His chosen children.
They then believe and trust in Him because of His working in their lives by the power of His Spirit.
There it is..
Salvation by man's efforts
plus God's efforts, or salvation by grace
alone through faith
alone in Christ
alone.
We are either
His workmanship, created "in Christ Jesus", or we are a product of both His workmanship and ours...co-operating with Him in His work to achieve a goal...our escape from eternal punishment in Hell.
Derf,
There's
way more to what God's children are than simply saved from His wrath;
They are saved
to an eternal relationship with Him and His Son.
I truly hope that you come to see it, if you have not already.
May God bless you always, sir.