Replies

Now, if it is God who draws men to him and it is God who hardens hearts, then you have just affirmed the Calvinist position of Absolute Predestination and added to it. Which is it, did you save yourself or did God draw you to Him?

Outstanding catch! God chose Jacob, yet rejected Esau. In fact, Esau sought repentance with tears, yet could not find it. Jacob was a conniving little backstabber yet the promise of the Saviour came through him!

If God both draws and hardens, then He is truly the author of our faith.

Praise be to His Name. Amen.

"Now, if it is God who draws men to him and it is God who hardens hearts, then you have just affirmed the Calvinist position of Absolute Predestination and added to it. Which is it, did you save yourself or did God draw you to Him?"

Outstanding catch! God chose Jacob, yet rejected Esau. In fact, Esau sought repentance with tears, yet could not find it. Jacob was a conniving little backstabber yet the promise of the Saviour came through him!

If God both draws and hardens, then He is truly the author of our faith.

Praise be to His Name. Amen.

Oh...so the moral of the story is we should not "seek repentance with tears" but be "conniving little backstabbers" if we want to find favor with God and have Him save us.

Indeed these are some of distorted interpretations of scriptures Calvinism can lead to.

It's not enough that He died for our sins and freely offers us salvation.....
We can simply sit back and remain in our selfish sinful ways and not accept Christ..and conclude that it is because God has not taken the initiative and "drawn us to Him".

And if we go to Hell....well there was nothing we could do about it anyway....God just didn't want us.
Incredible.

The mindset Calvinism leads to is so contrary to the Gospel it's astounding.

By the way...the passage says "Esau sought repentance with tears"..it doesn't say he actually repented...or was genuinely sorry for anything he did. He was probably sorry for the consquences.
Let's not forget that God knows what's in people's hearts and not judge the Jacob and Esau account by outward appearances.

Outstanding catch! God chose Jacob, yet rejected Esau. In fact, Esau sought repentance with tears, yet could not find it. Jacob was a conniving little backstabber yet the promise of the Saviour came through him!

Jacob chose to believe in God. God knew that it would be Jacob that would believe and therfore that is why he was chosen. Esau could not repent because he could not grasp the spiritual having chosen his entire life to live in the fleshy.

If God both draws and hardens, then He is truly the author of our faith.

He draws all men (Jn.12:32) and 'hardens' those who reject Him.(2Thess.2:11-12).

Even so, come Lord Jesus