For thirty years I’ve never even heard of Calvin, Reformation, God’s sovereignty or anything else in the Protestant (Baptist-focus mostly) church. During that time there were MANY passages of scriptures and theology I couldn’t reconcile (foreknowledge, predestined, etc.). I just kept them on the back burner.
Then I heard one sermon by John MacArthur (who I didn’t know was a Calvinist) on Philippians 2:6-11 and the sovereign grace of our Lord Jesus and that was enough for me. No one had ever talked about God’s sovereignty that I can remember in all my years being a Christian and attending many different types of denominations. I started researching God’s sovereignty and that landed me to the Reformation and John Calvin. (No one else talks about it.)
In reading though the TULIP I see nothing that conflicted with any scripture (all 5 points). In fact, many of the verses that I’ve always struggled with (e.g. the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, the salvation of Jeremiah and John the Baptist before they were born, etc.) suddenly are clear to me. To ensure this theology was correct (because of all the years of never hearing about this) I looked through pages and pages of the writings of the early church fathers, creeds and the Reformation. After spending over a year researching this on both the pros and cons, I’m convinced this is EXACTLY what the church originally thought and the church has moved away from this concept.
Don’t take my word for it. Mark down every time you hear anyone talk about God’s sovereign will. You’ll only need the back of a postage stamp.
What’s astonishing to me is how this seemingly innocuous viewpoint can generate such animosity and hatred among believers of other persuasions as is evident by your references. Whenever I start talking about God’s sovereignty I always get the “Yes, but…” as if this is an attribute like His love, mercy, or anger. God’s sovereignty is not an attribute. It’s God’s position. And the only way to truly understand God’s love is to understand God’s position.
Harley , I did not know much Protestant doctrine when I was saved. I did not know the "sinners prayer' or what the bible said on it.
One night as I asked God who he was , I was overcome in His grace and when to my knees in repentance . I gave him my miserable life . What I remember very clearly was the next morning my first thought was that I needed to find a Presbyterian church (All I knew was their name came from predestination) . I knew that this was an act of God that had to be predestined, because I did not know what being "saved' really meant .
It reminds me of the scripture . Rom 10:20 But Isaiah is very bold and says: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me