God loves us too much… {Guest Post}

I am looking for some serious apologetics from the Armenian side – no straw men requested. Having recently discussed election during a study of 1 and 2 Peter and hearing an attendee express complete disdain for the idea, I want to know the strong points of the ‘free choice’ side and the verses that support it. Who would be blowing the trumpet on that bandwagon and why?

Ultimately, I believe all discussions of election eventually return to the debaters’ views of who God is and what he does in the process of salvation, but for the time being, what are the specific arguments that favor free will?

Known and investigated verses-

John 3:16 – emphasis on ‘whosoever’

2 Peter 3:9

Ezekiel 18:23

Ezekiel 18:32

Ezekiel 33:11

1 Timothy 2:4

Are there other verses that seem to promote a free will offering to all?

Jed Hansen is a regular contributor of the TBPC Men’s Forum.  He has served as a short term missionary throughout the world through UPI.

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2010
08/27
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Christianity
Random Stuff
2 comments
  • Andrew T. Fisher

    Jed, I agree. The fundamental issue with every Arminian I’ve ever talked to is that they have a completely different view of who God is. I think some people are uncomfortable saying that Arminians have a different (and we are bound to say very wrong) view of God. I think that too many people are afraid to admit this difference, especially when trying to converse with them. When talking to Arminians this is always the boundary that I’ve run into. I’ve never been able to break through with Arminians without getting through to them that we’re approaching God from two very different locations. Sorry, didn’t really provide any argument information :)

  • JRH1

    Sorry, didn’t really provide any argument information :)

    Perhaps there isn’t any. I know the verses that I listed are typical. I am hoping for more, or at least some that might give reason to think or investigate further. To this point, I have not found any, nor have the verses listed given me any reason to question the Calvinistic side. Actually, they tend to substantiate the position, because they emphasize faith/belief, or accentuate the character of God.

    I don’t know if this is typical, but the opposing side tends to lob grenades at the very thing they practice – example: ‘it is important not to take anything out of context and when you read those passages, you are not taking into consideration the whole character of God.’ Yet, when I propose passages such as those in John 6 and 10 that refer to Christ specifically coming to save his people, they choose to focus on words like ‘whoever’ (6:35, 37). They self incriminate by their own criteria, yet fail to see it as such.

    Do we do this as well?

    v37 seems most incriminating when solely focusing on ‘whoever’. Whoever does not refer to whoever in general. Whoever refers to the first half of the verse where ‘All that the Father gives me will come to me.’

    Again, as mentioned this comes back to who God is and their view of His character. Perhaps more constructive would be investigating those verses that would be trumpeted as supporting their view of God.

    What are they and how do they fit into the Calvinistic view of justification/election?