Re: “Then those who make the right choice earn or merit their salvation by making the right choice. Such thinking is contradicted by Scripture.”
If someone offers you a gift, and you receive and accept that gift, you think you now merit that gift and “earned” it?? That makes no sense. I understand that Calvinists say such things, but I just do not get how responding to God’s offer of salvation through Jesus somehow endows the one receiving the gift as having “earned it” or “merited it” or is a “work.”
The condemned, dying, helpless sinner grabs hold of God’s unimaginable gift of salvation, and you think that grants the sinner some kind of merit? That the sinner’s positive response takes away from God’s glory somehow? You don’t need to respond to my post because you and I are not going to agree. But, I do appreciate the opportunity to discuss it with you.
It means you were smart enough or “good” enough to make the right choice and accept the gift.
Those who don’t accept it are either bad, immoral people or just dumb.
Who would want to spend eternity in hell if they could just profess faith in Christ and spend eternity in heaven ?