Deuteronomy 8:2 (American Standard Version)
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.
When it comes to high-Calvinism, one does not necessarily have to be a university graduate of chemistry, finance or law but it helps. Why must the subject of election, predestination and free will be contentious and divisive? In order to effectively deal with this issue, we must move outside of the Scriptures. To a certain degree, we must rely on the human skills of reason and philosophical logic. Those unacquainted with apologetics will lack the intellectual resources necessary to understand the implications of one position over another. Contrary to what the Calvinist’s may assert, the Scriptures fail to give us all that we need to know in regard to resolving the conflict.
Calvinism must have its interpreters, those with special spiritual insights, intellectual skills and masteries in Hebrew and Greek. The ordinary person must rely on those who have gone before him. You must have Augustine, Calvin, Beza, Edwards and Piper. There is simply no striking out on one’s own. This is why Calvinism has been called, The Puritan Gnosticism.
If you have thrown your lot in with high-sovereignty, then you have just gone on to a very small island and burned all of the bridges.
Roman Catholicism has the same with its Magisterium (interpretors of scripture and tradition) and in one sense the Bible still remains chained to one of the columns in St. Peter’s Basilica. You can read the Bible for yourself but God forbid you trying to figure it out on your own. For this work you need the august body of discipherers. Words and syntax that you have always understood no longer have the same meaning or structures as before. I invite the reader to familiarize himself or herself with the Roman Catholic explanation of John 6:48-58 to see what I mean.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a similar arrangement in Brooklyn, New York. Read the Bible (their Bible , of course) all you like but if you want to understand it correctly, you’ll need the Watchtower.
The Mormon’s will commend the Bible as long as it is, “correctly interpreted.”
Muslim’s care not a straw what the Bible says if Mohammed, the Koran or the Imam says something different.
The question ought to be asked, “Should anyone take the Bible at face value or do we really need hair-splitting specialists explaining to us that it says something more complex than what it appears to plainly say?”
No doubt there could be different understandings of some of these texts, but there is simply no reason why Calvinists, or anyone else for that matter, should assume that the “Reformed” have the only correct, orthodox rendering. Do they have special revelation? To trust commentary (interpreters) more than the text is a challenge to inerrancy. Anyone who is familiar with the Schofield Bible should be leery of the MacArthur and the Ryrie. Seminary and Ph.D’s are no guarantee of doctrinal soundness. A Ph.D does not tell us how smart or spiritual a person is it only tells us how long they have been in school.
Scriptural references which indicate the universal call of God to ALL men are too numerous to itemize in detail.
Here is but a small sampling….
1 John 2:2
2 and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Matthew 26:13
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
John 1:9
9 There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world.
John 1:29
29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:17-19
17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.
18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
Romans 10:13
13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 10:34
34 And Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Biblical statements regarding personal choice are also well represented.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28
26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;
28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
Jeremiah 21:8
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
Deuteronomy 30:19
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;
Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near:
Proverbs 1:24-27
24 Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh in the day of your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you.
Isaiah 55:7
7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Matthew 5:6
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 11:28
28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 23:37
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Jeremiah 29:13
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Matthew 22:9-10
9 Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast.
10 And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was filled with guests.
John 6:37
37 All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
James 4:8
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not of works, that no man should glory.
From Genesis and the call of Adam, “Where art thou?” through Revelation and the call of “the Spirit and the Bride say, Come…” the Bible can best be understood as an invitation to a wedding feast that culminates in The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. When Jesus commands us to go into the hedgeways and “COMPEL them to come in, “ he means what he says. The word COMPEL is very strong meaning, necessitate, urge, persuade.
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