Jonathan Edwards preached in the 1740s to bring on the Great Awakening: "...Their foot shall slide in due time; the day of their calamity is at hand" (Deut. 32:35). When he preached "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" this was his text.
Reprobate means condemned beforehand. Paul calls them vessels of wrath as opposed to vessels of mercy. It's God's call who we are. Even our niceness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God. God doesn't actively force a person to reject Him or disobey Him--He does it on his own accord. Jean Calvin called this doctrine the "horrible decree." The opposite of reprobation is the doctrine of election which is clearly mentioned in Titus and 1 Peter 2:7-9. I don't believe in double-predestination or that God makes some reject Him--that is called hyper-Calvinism and Calvin didn't believe that. God merely passes over the reprobate to go their own way (preterition). "To the elect...." If you can prove reprobation which is a doctrine with much consternation like predestination (nobody likes to talk about it), you can by default prove election.
In my view, (doctrine of preterition) God passes over the non-elect and lets them go their own way, but all of us would reject God if He hadn't had worked in our hearts and wills to make us willing to do His will (cf. Phil. 2:13). Compare John 6:44 and 6:65 which says that one cannot come to Jesus unless it has been granted him and the Father draws him (woos him).
Three verses stand out to be brought to our attention.[All verses in NKJV.] Jude 4 says, "For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation...." 1 Peter 2:8 says, "They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed." And finally 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." These verses are pretty straightforward and don't need commentary
Is not God the potter and we the clay; cannot God do with us as He sees fit, whether for common or for honorable use. How then can God blame us if He chooses? This is the question that Paul anticipates in Romans 9:19, "You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?'" If you can answer this you deserve a doctorate in theology. Nota bene that Paul knew ahead of time that people would wonder about election and try to reconcile it with free will. The fact is, is that we cannot resist God's will--He always gets His way. Soli Deo Gloria!
Reprobate means condemned beforehand. Paul calls them vessels of wrath as opposed to vessels of mercy. It's God's call who we are. Even our niceness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God. God doesn't actively force a person to reject Him or disobey Him--He does it on his own accord. Jean Calvin called this doctrine the "horrible decree." The opposite of reprobation is the doctrine of election which is clearly mentioned in Titus and 1 Peter 2:7-9. I don't believe in double-predestination or that God makes some reject Him--that is called hyper-Calvinism and Calvin didn't believe that. God merely passes over the reprobate to go their own way (preterition). "To the elect...." If you can prove reprobation which is a doctrine with much consternation like predestination (nobody likes to talk about it), you can by default prove election.
In my view, (doctrine of preterition) God passes over the non-elect and lets them go their own way, but all of us would reject God if He hadn't had worked in our hearts and wills to make us willing to do His will (cf. Phil. 2:13). Compare John 6:44 and 6:65 which says that one cannot come to Jesus unless it has been granted him and the Father draws him (woos him).
Three verses stand out to be brought to our attention.[All verses in NKJV.] Jude 4 says, "For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation...." 1 Peter 2:8 says, "They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed." And finally 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." These verses are pretty straightforward and don't need commentary
Is not God the potter and we the clay; cannot God do with us as He sees fit, whether for common or for honorable use. How then can God blame us if He chooses? This is the question that Paul anticipates in Romans 9:19, "You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?'" If you can answer this you deserve a doctorate in theology. Nota bene that Paul knew ahead of time that people would wonder about election and try to reconcile it with free will. The fact is, is that we cannot resist God's will--He always gets His way. Soli Deo Gloria!