I
Ignatios
Guest
How is God just when He supposedly predestined the fate of some of His image-bearers to eternal torment before they could choose for themselves, before they were created? Did God predestine their fate before He created them?
If all men sin because Adam sinned, and Adam's sin came from Satan's influence, then why did Satan sin? Did Satan have free will? If Satan had free will, how were his actions predestined by God? If Satan didn't have free will, what or who made him sin?
If we, according to Reformed Theology, sin because we have a sinful nature, and a nature that is sinful necessarily produces sinful actions, then why did Adam sin when, according to Reformed Theology, he had a perfect nature? Was Satan able to change Adam's nature? If so, why is Adam responsible for his actions when they are the necessary product of his nature? Did Adam have the ability to sin and the ability to not sin? Does this mean that his nature simply had the capacity to sin or not, but that his actions were predetermined by another, or does this mean that he had free will?
Is God responsible for our regeneration, all the good we do and our whole salvation? Why should we believe that God does everything in salvation? Should we believe in the Reformed understanding of God's Providence so as to give him all the glory in our salvation because he predestined it and controls it from start to finish? If he gets all the glory for our salvation, then why doesn't he get the shame of our damnation from start to finish, since he predestined it? Is there any distinction between God's relationship to the saved and the damned in his predestination? We could say, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated". We could also say that God's will is beyond our comprehension, that his ways are not our ways. I think that is a plausable place to end, except for the fact that there's no discernable reason why God would put his people into a position where we are asking ourselves, "why did God predestine so many people we love to eternal torment and save only a few when, if it were up to us, we would forgive and save our loved ones?" Is it because God is just and holy and can't let sin go? If he can't let sin go, then how did he pardon sin when he punished his Son instead? Why didn't he predestine all men to be saved in Christ when it would still show his power? In fact, wouldn't it show his power more to overcome death and bring eternal life to all men, instead of raising only some to eternal life, and then pouring out eternal wrath upon others? Wouldn't that make Christ's honor for his sacrifice even greater?
It has been said by some of the Reformed that the good end of heaven and eternal life for the just surpasses the suffering in this age and in the age to come, which is why it's okay to say that God predestined most of humanity to damnation and yet still look forward to the glory of the future age. In other words, it's all worth it. This is not a sufficient justification for us to abandon our understanding of mercy and forgiveness. If God is so loving to forgive some on the basis of his cross, why does his love not extend to all? And how are we to stand idly and worshipfully by while God annihilates most of the human race according to his plan before the foundations of the earth? The real problem is that the problem is constantly staring us in the face. Humanity is broken down into two groups, one much larger than the other, which are predetermined to salvation or damnation. Why? "We can't know God's will." Okay, but why would he let this knowledge out to us in the first place? It's awful to think that our friends and family members are against Christ because God determined them to be. His commandments for everyone are superfluous since he already has everything predestined. No one commands inanimate objects to worship, and then destroys them when they don't.
I'll stop there.
If all men sin because Adam sinned, and Adam's sin came from Satan's influence, then why did Satan sin? Did Satan have free will? If Satan had free will, how were his actions predestined by God? If Satan didn't have free will, what or who made him sin?
If we, according to Reformed Theology, sin because we have a sinful nature, and a nature that is sinful necessarily produces sinful actions, then why did Adam sin when, according to Reformed Theology, he had a perfect nature? Was Satan able to change Adam's nature? If so, why is Adam responsible for his actions when they are the necessary product of his nature? Did Adam have the ability to sin and the ability to not sin? Does this mean that his nature simply had the capacity to sin or not, but that his actions were predetermined by another, or does this mean that he had free will?
Is God responsible for our regeneration, all the good we do and our whole salvation? Why should we believe that God does everything in salvation? Should we believe in the Reformed understanding of God's Providence so as to give him all the glory in our salvation because he predestined it and controls it from start to finish? If he gets all the glory for our salvation, then why doesn't he get the shame of our damnation from start to finish, since he predestined it? Is there any distinction between God's relationship to the saved and the damned in his predestination? We could say, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated". We could also say that God's will is beyond our comprehension, that his ways are not our ways. I think that is a plausable place to end, except for the fact that there's no discernable reason why God would put his people into a position where we are asking ourselves, "why did God predestine so many people we love to eternal torment and save only a few when, if it were up to us, we would forgive and save our loved ones?" Is it because God is just and holy and can't let sin go? If he can't let sin go, then how did he pardon sin when he punished his Son instead? Why didn't he predestine all men to be saved in Christ when it would still show his power? In fact, wouldn't it show his power more to overcome death and bring eternal life to all men, instead of raising only some to eternal life, and then pouring out eternal wrath upon others? Wouldn't that make Christ's honor for his sacrifice even greater?
It has been said by some of the Reformed that the good end of heaven and eternal life for the just surpasses the suffering in this age and in the age to come, which is why it's okay to say that God predestined most of humanity to damnation and yet still look forward to the glory of the future age. In other words, it's all worth it. This is not a sufficient justification for us to abandon our understanding of mercy and forgiveness. If God is so loving to forgive some on the basis of his cross, why does his love not extend to all? And how are we to stand idly and worshipfully by while God annihilates most of the human race according to his plan before the foundations of the earth? The real problem is that the problem is constantly staring us in the face. Humanity is broken down into two groups, one much larger than the other, which are predetermined to salvation or damnation. Why? "We can't know God's will." Okay, but why would he let this knowledge out to us in the first place? It's awful to think that our friends and family members are against Christ because God determined them to be. His commandments for everyone are superfluous since he already has everything predestined. No one commands inanimate objects to worship, and then destroys them when they don't.
I'll stop there.