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Thursday, November 07, 2013

Heeding the Shepherd's voice



posted to
November 2
Just wondering how a Calvinist decides whether to listen to the voice of God or to the voice of Satan? As believers, we know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil. So for a Calvinist...in any situation imaginable...if the believer follows the voice of God, it is God's will, or if the believer follows the voice of Satan that would also be God's will. I'm not being facetious, I'm seriously trying to work through how this would be handled. Aren't believers to test the spirits to see if they are from God? Am I just confused by what Calvinism teaches?

Normally I wouldn't pay attention to this sort of thing, but since it was posted at Jerry Walls' Facebook page, and went unchallenged, I'll comment:

i) It's striking that some Arminians think Calvinists are in the same psychological condition as delusional serial killers. By that logic, Calvinists ought to be involuntarily committed to secure psychiatric facilities. 

ii) In addition, Arminians have their own way of subdividing God's will. They distinguish between God's antecedent will and God's consequent will, or between God's perfect will and God's permissive will. So it would be child's play to create an Arminian parallel:

Just wondering how an Arminian decides whether to listen to the voice of God or to the voice of Satan? As believers, we know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil. So for an Arminian...in any situation imaginable...if the believer follows the voice of God, it is God's will, or if the believer follows the voice of Satan that would be God's consequent will? I'm not being facetious, I'm seriously trying to work through how this would be handled. Aren't believers to test the spirits to see if they are from God? Am I just confused by what Arminianism teaches? 
Just wondering how an Arminian decides whether to listen to the voice of God or to the voice of Satan? As believers, we know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil. So for an Arminian…in any situation imaginable...if the believer follows the voice of God, it is God's will, or if the believer follows the voice of Satan that would be God's permissive will? I'm not being facetious, I'm seriously trying to work through how this would be handled. Aren't believers to test the spirits to see if they are from God? Am I just confused by what Arminianism teaches?

iii) Finally, from a Calvinist perspective, if God decreed that some reprobate follow Satan's voice, there wouldn't be that indecisive deliberation. If God decree that Judas follow Satan's voice, that's what Judas will do, as part of God's redemptive plan. No vacillation. 

Conversely, God has decreed that his elect will heed his voice:

The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers (Jn 10:3-5).

1 comment:

  1. The author of that comment holds a ThM from SBTS.

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