I have come to this conclusion of late: it is not the negligence of Scripture that gives T.U.L.I.P. its rigor but the implied precedence of certain Scriptures overriding all the, what I can only suppose to be, "lesser Scriptures".
To wit, God who created the Law of Human Nature, without interruption or resistance, continuously overrides man's will. Thus man is not free to obey or disobey the voice of God but rather is bound to the imputed will of God.
("Imputed" seems to be my new favorite word of late :-P )
The only Scriptures I am aware of that "overrides" another is "Mercy triumphs over Judgment." Good over evil, light over darkness, life over death, etc.
I am writing out a brief, though somewhat detailed, exposition of Scripture to bring to bear some notable observations of the workings of God in the hearts (and wills) of men. Perhaps I may yet finish it and post it up, as I would like to finish writing it to get it out of me. However, for the time being I will allow good ol' Jonathan Edwards to answer in my place.
[url=http://www.biblebb.com/files/edwards/JE-sovereign.htm]The Sovereignty of God in Salvation
by
Jonathan Edwards
(1703-1758)
“God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.” [Romans 9:18]
THE Apostle Paul, in the beginning of this chapter, expresses his great concern and sorrow of heart for the people of Israel, who were rejected by God. This leads him to observe the difference, which God made by election, between some of the Jews and others, and between the majority of the Jews and the Christian Gentiles. In speaking of this he enters into the most detailed discussion found anywhere in the whole Bible concerning the sovereignty of God in electing some to eternal life, and rejecting others. He quotes several passages from the Old Testament, confirming and illustrating this doctrine of Election:
1. In the Book of Romans (9:9), Paul reminds us of what God said to Abraham, showing His election of Isaac before Ishmael, saying,-“At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
2. He shows in verse twelve, what God had said to Rebecca, showing His election of Jacob over Esau; “The older will serve the younger.”
3. In the thirteenth verse, he refers to a passage from Malachi, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
4. In the fifteenth verse, to what God said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
5. Finally, in the seventeenth verse, to what God said to Pharaoh, “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
From what the apostle says in the text, he seems to have a special regard for the last two cited passages: to what God said to Moses in the fifteenth verse, and to what He said to Pharaoh in the seventeenth verse. God said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy.” The apostle refers to this in the first part of our text. And we also know that it often said about Pharaoh, that “God hardened his heart.” And Paul seems to have focused on this fact in the latter part of the text; “and He hardens whom He wants to harden.” Now, from all of this we can observe two basic facts:
1. God's deals differently with men-He has mercy on some, and He hardens others.
[b]When God is spoken of as hardening the hearts of some men, it is not to be understood that God was, [u]in any way[u]To suppose any such thing would be to make God the immediate author of sin.
God is said to harden men in two ways:
A. First, by withholding the powerful influences of His Spirit, without which their hearts will remain hardened, and grow harder and harder-in this sense God hardens them, as He leaves them in their hardness.
B. Secondly, God hardens men, by providentially ordering things which, by the continued sin of man, becomes the reason for their hardening. Thus God sends His word and commands to men and women which, they then ignore, thereby, confirming their hardening. So the apostle Paul said, that the gospel message he preached was to some people “the smell of death."
So God is represented as sending Isaiah to the people, to “Make the heart of the people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” [Isaiah 6:10] Isaiah's preaching was, in itself, a message imploring these people to turn from their ways and follow God and His word. But their rejection of God’s message caused it to be it an opportunity to further harden their hearts.
God is said to harden men, that He put a lying spirit in the mouth of the false prophets. (2 Chronicles. 18:22). That is, He “allowed” a lying spirit to enter into them. And thus He is said to have told Shimei, a man from the same clan as Saul, to curse David. (2 Samuel 16:10). God did not directly command him to curse David; for it would be contrary to God's commands, for God has expressly said in His Word, “Do not . . . curse the ruler of your people.” [Exodus 22:28] But God “allowed” the evil to work in the heart of Shimei, and then sovereignly brought about the opportunity of stirring it up, as a manifestation of his displeasure against David.
Goodness people, if we had been reading comments like these all along there would be distinctly few disagreements as touching the Sovereignty of God.
Such as the doctrine of "elect" and "non-elect," as it is commonly understood, I still find to be considerably questionable; although I do not question that it is indeed Biblical. Perhaps my questions arise moreso out of the manifold witness of Jesus Christ and the certain vagueness of eternity touching time. In these two points I consider the more ostensible doctrine of election to be lacking.
It is refreshing to see that Edwards has a far more Scriptural grasp concerning the proper place of man in God's creation (some of you ought to take some notes on this sermon).
As for some here on SI, when you write or post articles, the emphasis appears that man is "Sovereignly dominated." Rather than as Edwards rightly discerns, man is "Sovereignly influenced." That is to say, man's free-will being Sovereignly pressured and tested but never extorted. God draws near to men (for He is not far from any of us) through Christ and therefore man is able to be conformed to the image of Christ and renewed by the Holy Spirit -- by Sovereign grace through faith according to His magnificent promises.
[b]When God is spoken of as hardening the hearts of some men, it is not to be understood that God was, [u]in any way[u]To suppose any such thing would be to make God the immediate author of sin.
I do indeed love this paragraph. I don't suppose myself capable of saying it better.
This is honestly the entire intention of the article I was writing.
4. We learn why we must admire the grace of God, that He would condescend to become bound to us by covenant;
That He, who is naturally supreme in His dominion over us, who is our absolute master, and can do with us as He pleases, and is under no obligation to us; that this same God should, as it were, relinquish His absolute freedom, and should cease to be sovereign in His dispensations towards believers, when once they have believed in Christ, and would, for their consolation, become bound. So that they can challenge salvation of this Sovereign; they can demand it through Christ, as a debt. And it would be dishonoring to the glory of God's attributes, to deny it to them; it would be contrary to His justice and faithfulness. What wonderful condescension is it in such a Being, to become bound to us, worms of the dust, for our consolation! He bound Himself by His word, His promise.
But He was not satisfied with that; but that we might have stronger consolation still, He Has bound Himself by His oath. The writer of Hebrews says, “When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.’ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:13-20).
Let us, therefore, labor to submit to the sovereignty of God. God insists, that His sovereignty be acknowledged by us, and especially His sovereignty over our own eternal salvation, a matter which so nearly and infinitely concerns us. This is the stumbling-block on which thousands fall and perish; and if we go on challenging God about His sovereignty, it will be our eternal ruin. It is absolutely essential that we submit to God, as our absolute sovereign, and the sovereign over our souls; as one who “has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and hardens whom He wants to harden.”
Phrases like this, "But consider, that though God's grace is sufficient, yet He is sovereign, and will use His own pleasure to determine whether He will save you or not." I understand this and I have no problem with it BUT! I know there is more to it than this. As it is in this last portion posted here of Edwards' sermon, "that He would condescend to become bound to us by covenant," since the revelation of Christ Jesus I can not with sincerity of conscience agree that Christ is not in some manner seeking to bestow such promises on all men. Yes, I am aware that He is not obliged and for the "manifestation of all His attributes," etc..
To lay it out fairly straight: the greatest manifestation of ALL of God's divine glory and attributes is wholly satisfied in the salvation of Christ Jesus unto men.
So for me, to say, "so that God could display all of His attributes He justly partitions out wrath to those He rejected for election." Even to the extent of saying, "God utterly despised 'the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth'," and this doesn't cut-the-bill.
So in regards, Edwards is spot-on in saying that if God somehow directly "hardened" the hearts of men, He would be the author of sin. And I considerably question whether this same principle of falsely making God the author of sin is being applied to God's Sovereignty of election.
For as the Scripture says, [b]Romans 1:28
How can they retain unless they have first received? And where did they receive the knowledge of God? How can we say these hardened souls have a knowledge of God and God "gave them over" unless God was first seeking to draw them in to be partakers of the promises of faith in Him?
I absolutely agree with Edwards concerning the providence of enviroment. Yet, even this is no excuse on the things clearly revealed from heaven by God against all ungodliness.