[CottShop]

[[It begins with the grace of God which touches a sinner’s heart, and calls him to repentance. This grace cannot be merited; it proceeds solely from the love and mercy of God]]

It prioceeds from the Soveriengty of God- A very deep subject- in which unmeritted mercy, and also righteous wrath are wrapped up in- God is NO respector of men- a VERY humbling statement if ever there was one- God didn’t ‘choose me’ because of anything I did to deserve it- He chose me because He is a Soveriegn God who created man to have fellowship with Him- which we promptly threw aside as htough it were nothing, by eating hte apple in the garden.

There is a great theological debate about whether God caqn love htose He knew before they were even born will reject Him- some say No- God did not mean those when He said ‘For God so loved the world’ Some say yes- God means everyone- I think the statement that God is no respector of man plays heavily into htis myself- Jacob hath He loved, Esau hath He hated- and it is His priviledge, as a Soveriegn God, to love and Hate Whom He will- Some clay vessels He creates for glory, some for destruction but htis is a whole other subject

[aruanan]

Some say yes- God means everyone- I think the statement that God is no respector of man plays heavily into htis myself- Jacob hath He loved, Esau hath He hated- and it is His priviledge, as a Soveriegn God, to love and Hate Whom He will- Some clay vessels He creates for glory, some for destruction but htis is a whole other subject

You do know, don't you, that those verses about Esau and Jacob are referring to them as nations and don't have anything at all to do with the individual salvation of either of those two persons?

What a tangled web Calvin and those who followed him have weaved. The sovereign God has called all to repentance, not a select few. The grace of God has appeared unto all men, not to all of a select few. God's grace and love and mercy are poured out through Jesus Christ on all of humanity, not on a select few chosen arbitrarily before the beginning of creation.