Harden Whom He Wills

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remade
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Harden Whom He Wills

Post by remade » Sat Oct 29, 2016 4:18 pm

Just a leaning-Classical Arminian throwing out a verse... note at before the text firstly talked about in

Romans 9:18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

So do we believe that? And if we believe that God hardens whomever He wills, what does that have to do with Calvinism, anything?

I've heard this explanation, God's hardening of heart is the picture played out in

Proverbs 25:21-22

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.


In other words; God's hardening is a hardening brought on by His being gracious and loving, and men, by their own sin and folly responding to His grace. In other words, as the Calvinistic puritans would phrase:
“The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins” – Spurgeon
However, in context and from face values, is that what Paul is saying about God when he says, "he hardens whomever he wills." We are not told, that I can see, in that context what Paul means other than the fact that God is just hardening whomever he wills.

I don't say all this to come across as a convicted Calvinist, but I am truly interested in the best defense from a non-Calvinist view.

Much love
Glad to be iron sharpening iron.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- II CORINTHIANS 5:21 ESV

Singalphile
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Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 12:46 pm

Re: Harden Whom He Wills

Post by Singalphile » Sun Oct 30, 2016 11:49 am

remade wrote:Romans 9:18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

So do we believe that? And if we believe that God hardens whomever He wills, what does that have to do with Calvinism, anything?
...
I don't say all this to come across as a convicted Calvinist, but I am truly interested in the best defense from a non-Calvinist view.
I don't see that it has anything to do with Calvinism, so there's no reason to "defend" anything. If a Calvinist were to present a positive case that this passage is teaching what we call Calvinism, then I could try to argue against (or "defend" against) that.
... that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. John 5:23

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