Obtuse, Purple and Clairvoyant

I lament my obtuse mind. Years of public school and television have honed my quick whit to a veritable oblivion. Alas, I am not alone. We have a generation, perhaps two, of slow, amused sloths. Let me give you an example of our total lack of logical precision and curiosity.

The question of free will versus predestination has plagued the church for thousands of years; however, modern evangelicals, of whom I am one, seem to be able to so easily dismiss it. We use phrases to defend our position: “whosoever will”, or “if anyone hears my voice and opens the door”, or “if you call on my name”…the list goes on. It all seems so easy, that I used to wonder why all the hassle all these years.

The problem, I now see, is that I was too stupid to see the real question. I filled my mind with things that I had assumed to be true with no verification whatsoever. For instance, I assumed that “whosoever” inherently means anyone can. It simply means “whatever person”, and the word has no bearing on who is able to. If I said, “Whatever person gets an A on the test will come with me.” I make no claims about individuals having equal opportunity to get an A. We live in an egalitarian democratic society that values personal freedom over all else so we tend to assume it where it may or may not belong.

I tended to focus on the action and the “if/then” statements, but the real question comes before the if/then. The real question is what determines one’s ability to complete the “if”?

For instance, Revelation 3:20 states “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me.” This seems to our modern, western thinking to state that anyone can open the door to Christ, but Romans 10:17 states the emphatic opposite. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The passage continues with the fact that many Jews heard and didn’t gain faith because God himself had stopped up their ears to the understanding of the truth lest they turn to Christ.

In short the question is not:

Whoever comes to Christ = Salvation

The question is:

Whoever is able to hear + Whoever comes to Christ = Salvation

Calvin said that if you are able to hear you will by necessity come to Christ. Arminius said that you may come to Christ if you are able to hear. Pelagius said that anyone can come to Christ.

Oh, my obtuse head is aching.

The next question is “Do I control my will or does my will control me?”