Calvinist want us to believe that... "God so loves the world that he gives his only begotten Son" John 3:16. But he doesn't want everyone to hear and believe that. Instead, they believe that he blinds some so that they can't hear and believe the Gospel and be saved. If that is what you believe about God, then you are the one that is blind.
Paul and some of the other apostles spent over 20 years of their life and traveled over 10,000 miles by foot, donkey and ship to take the Gospel to the pagan Gentile world. Today there are monuments all along the route that they took as proof that they really did that. Paul was not taking a census to see who had been predestinated, nor was Paul interested in building elaborate cathedrals. Paul's motivation was to take the Gospel to the unbelieving world.
Calvinist should be very careful as to what they believe and what they accuse God of doing. To say that God blinds men so that they cannot hear and believe the Gospel is to accuse God of being unjust. If you believe that God is unjust then it is not possible to believe and have faith in him. If you don't believe and have faith in God, you are not a Christian, you are a counterfeit.
"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (which is the Gospel) Romans 10:17.
This should be enough to change any Calvinist mind, but it is not enough. They don't want to believe that God is gracious, kind, long-suffering, "Not willing that any should perish" 2 Peter 3:9 If they believed that, then they would also have to believe on his Son Jesus Christ and be saved. Instead they prefer to believe that God is a cruel, unjust, unmerciful, unrighteous tyrant that can only have a people for himself by imposing salvation on them. Are you sure that you want to spend eternity with that kind of a God? I wouldn't.
We that have come to Christ by hearing and believing the Gospel know that is NOT what God is like. It is true that man is a sinner, but that does not mean that he is deaf to the Gospel. Adam did not lose his free will in the fall. What Adam lost was his relationship with God. Why would God take away his free will? This is another Calvinist belief that makes God unjust and unmerciful and is a lie.
It is not possible to be a Calvinist without negative beliefs about the character and nature of God. The way that I see it, TULIP is a poisonous flower. If you embrace it as a means of your salvation and faith you will perish.
Paul and some of the other apostles spent over 20 years of their life and traveled over 10,000 miles by foot, donkey and ship to take the Gospel to the pagan Gentile world. Today there are monuments all along the route that they took as proof that they really did that. Paul was not taking a census to see who had been predestinated, nor was Paul interested in building elaborate cathedrals. Paul's motivation was to take the Gospel to the unbelieving world.
Calvinist should be very careful as to what they believe and what they accuse God of doing. To say that God blinds men so that they cannot hear and believe the Gospel is to accuse God of being unjust. If you believe that God is unjust then it is not possible to believe and have faith in him. If you don't believe and have faith in God, you are not a Christian, you are a counterfeit.
"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (which is the Gospel) Romans 10:17.
This should be enough to change any Calvinist mind, but it is not enough. They don't want to believe that God is gracious, kind, long-suffering, "Not willing that any should perish" 2 Peter 3:9 If they believed that, then they would also have to believe on his Son Jesus Christ and be saved. Instead they prefer to believe that God is a cruel, unjust, unmerciful, unrighteous tyrant that can only have a people for himself by imposing salvation on them. Are you sure that you want to spend eternity with that kind of a God? I wouldn't.
We that have come to Christ by hearing and believing the Gospel know that is NOT what God is like. It is true that man is a sinner, but that does not mean that he is deaf to the Gospel. Adam did not lose his free will in the fall. What Adam lost was his relationship with God. Why would God take away his free will? This is another Calvinist belief that makes God unjust and unmerciful and is a lie.
It is not possible to be a Calvinist without negative beliefs about the character and nature of God. The way that I see it, TULIP is a poisonous flower. If you embrace it as a means of your salvation and faith you will perish.
