Just a little clarification. Moondweller is
not a Calvinist. he believes in free will. Considering what Calvinists have said about “free will” Protestants, it always fascinates me when the two groups present a united front against Catholics. And yet their differences in their understanding of salvation and faith alone is
substantive. For example, anti-Catholic James White has
this to say about anti-Catholic OSAS free will Dave Hunt has
this to say about “free will;”
No matter how hard you try, you can’t avoid coming to the conclusion that, in a “free will” system of salvation, those who believe do so because there is something different about them. If the Spirit is bringing equal conviction to bear upon each individual, the only deciding factor, given equality in everything else, is something in the person himself. I believe the only possible difference between the redeemed in heaven and the guilty, condemned, punished sinner in hell is a five-letter word, Dave. It’s called “grace.”
This is from
vintage.aomin.org/DHOpenLetter.html
Calvinist John G. Reisinger argues that there are only
two
religions in the world, the
false religion of free will and the gospel of free grace:
The false religion of free will, or works, is based upon several unbiblical doctrines. The most basic of these is the universal and indiscriminate redemptive love of God. God is said to love all men in the same way and to the same degree. He loved Judas the same as Peter, Esau like Jacob, and the goats as much as the sheep. Since His love is universal then the greatest gift of His love, Jesus Christ His Son, must have been given to provide a universal atonement, meaning for every individual without exception, in His death. The objects of the Son’s atonement must be equal to the objects of the Father’s love, so both must include every man. If the Father loves all men equally, and the Son redeemed every man without exception, it follows that the Holy Spirit must convict every man or else the Trinity is not working together toward the same end in the task of redeeming lost men.
This is from
soundofgrace.com/jgr/index004.htm
Another Calvinist states the following:
(
c.) Besides Christ there is no Saviour (Isa 43:11; Ho 13:4); but free-will Arminianism makes man a co-saviour with Christ; as if there was a halving of it between the grace of Christ and the will of man, and the latter dividing the spoil with the former; yea, deserving the greater share: for if Christ be only a monitor, and persuade to good, then man’s own will is the principal author of its own goodness; and he makes himself to differ from others, and hath something, that he received not at conversion, of which to boast before God. “Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1Co 4:7). Persuasion leaves the admonished will to its own indifferency, not changing it at all; so man becomes his own saviour, at least Christ is not the only Saviour; how then is Christ All in all?
This is from
geocities.com/pvrosman/An_Antidote_Against_Arminianism_Of_Freewill_In_The_Fallen_State_Ch3UnNamed.html
Here’s what another Calvinist has to say on this issue:
**The Reformation doctrine of sola gratia is pertinent to our discussion of synergism and monergism. A salvation that is a cooperative effort between God and man is not a salvation by grace alone. There is no logical way to argue that it is. Grace plus something man adds to it, whatever that might be, is not grace alone …
To whatever degree we put confidence in human ability, we destroy the doctrine of grace alone. Most evangelicals will at least give lip service to the other solas. This one, if it is explained in the sense it was taught by the Reformers, is outright rejected. The idea of the bondage of the will as taught by Luther is rejected. The idea that God owes salvation to no one is rejected.**
This is from
cicministry.org/commentary/issue93.htm BTW, the term “synergist” is applied to Catholics and faith alone free willn Protestants.
R.C. Sproul says the following:
**Why did you recognize your desperate need for Christ while your neighbor didn’t? Was it because you were more righteous than your neighbor, or more intelligent?
The $64 question for advocates of prevenient grace is why some people cooperate with it and others’ don’t. How we answer that will reveal how gracious we believe our salvation really is**.
Many Calvinists have accused “free will” Protestants of teaching a gospel of human effort or
works for believing that coming to faith involves free choice and of compromising the doctrine of sola
gratia. So when Calvinists and “free will” Protestants unite on this issue, I always find it very ironic.
God Bless,
Michael
For the sake of accuracy, moondweller is not one of them.