The thing is, that believing in the doctrines of grace as communicated in the Bible can be difficult. They can be difficult to wrestle with. I have found myself in Romans 9, Ephesians 1, Exodus 4, and John 10:26, (well, actually the entire gospel of John), wondering if I am reading these things wrong. In John 10:26 Jesus says, "you don't believe because you are not of my sheep". The wording there is important. The fact that they aren't His sheep is why they don't believe, not that because they won't believe they are not His sheep. Once an Armeniast said to me, "Calvanism seems to work out great for the Calvanist". They were right. Who here wants to bear the weight of their salvation? Who wants to have to wonder if they have enough faith for it to be a saving faith? Who here wants to entrust salvation into their own hands and minds to properly respond to God? Many have a hard time accepting our total depravity: that we are entirely rebellious beings against God and that were He not to regenerate us, give us repentance, and give us the faith to believe in Christ we never would. It is a hard pill to swallow no doubt. I know these things from Scripture and experience. Augustine of Hippo understood this one thing clearly among other things he did not. He, Augustine, prayed, "Lord command my will" as he knew the will must obey God if He should command it. I would say if you don't believe the doctrines of God's grace and soveriegnty as outlined by Calvin don't pray anymore that God would save anyone, but pray He would orchestrate conditions in which they would believe. When you think this one out to its logical conclusions God either does all the work in saving and Calvin was correct about that or you are an open Theist and God does not fully declare the end fom the beginning as He says. You would also have to assert that Christ's atonement was and is based only upon whether or not you choose to believe. You have to say Christ's atonement was a hopeful one instead of an effective one. Admittedly, many like myself have to come to the understanding of election by way of long-lived experiences with God showing me Biblical truth, but my experience is not the rule of truth, it is in the Word. If we misunderstand our own depravity we will misunderstand God's amazing love and grace. To deny that election is entirely unconditional is to diminish God's glory. To assert that the atonement is not limited is to limit God's omniscience. To contend that irresitable grace is an offense to free will is to accuse one who erects a fence before a hidden cliff of being a robber. And to rely on your own perseverence is to say God starts the work, but you finish it. To accept the assertions of Calvanism without a hard, soulful struggle is to not understand it, but to deny its assertions requires that you ignore much of what Scripture plainly states. God is a person. Jesus is the fullness of God manifested in the flesh. All who fully understand all that Jesus taught concerning Himself, the Father, and the Spirit raise your hand. Yep...I didn't think so. It may be very difficult to understand THE person who is God, (this I know), but just because we can't sort out His ways doesn't make them any less a reality. I defer to Paul: Romans 11:33, " Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past tracing out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."
