And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:1–10, NASB
I am in no way backing off of the fact that I am a Calvinist. God is sovereign. He is perfect. He is omniscient, omnipresent, and immutable. He is holy, righteous, and just. Did I mention that he is sovereign? Yes, He most certainly is that and if you study – honestly study – holy sacred Scripture with the goal of finding God’s truth, and not seeking an excuse to justify your own belief system, you have to come away from an exclusive, totally exegetical study of it grounded in the presupposition that God is righteous and just, and that man is His creation to do with as He pleases.
Also, any attempt to place the free will of man over and above the sovereign will of God is an act of rebellion, and causes men to interpret scripture from an alien hermeneutic, leading them to totally misunderstand God and His will. As I have posted several articles lately about Reformation theology, I have also received many “communications” from certain people who find it “offensive.” I have been doing this a long time, and I hope you have noticed that I no longer allow “arguing” of any kind on my blog. Debate and arguing are not the same thing. No one in the offended camp wants to debate…