Tuesday, May 24, 2011

According to Plan

As Spurgeon once noted, we should never try to reconcile the doctrines of divine sovereignty and human responsibility simply because they were never at odds to begin with. They are, at least in holy writ, "friends" if you will.

But this does not prevent many from trying to twist and wrack the doctrine of divine election into something a bit less offensive, and a bit more logical. But Graeme Goldsworthy, in his most excellent introduction to biblical theology, warns those who would attempt to revise God's revelation:

"Election is a principle that is developed throughout the biblical history, and we should be careful not to misunderstand it or try to reshape it by human logic into a more acceptable doctrine. We cannot solve this mystery by resorting to easy solutions such as suggesting that God foresees the faith of those whom he subsequently, and on that basis, elects. Nor may we erect false, if apparently logical, objections to the doctrine such as saying that election based on God's free grace reduces us to robots or puppets on a string with no wills or power to make choices." (Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible.)

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