First Mate Calvin and the Captain..

The ship was sinking, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. The captain called first mate Calvin to his side, and informed him of the coming tragedy. The captain said that some would certainly perish, though it grieved him that this was the case.

"Unfortunately, many will not make it into the life boats in time," the captain grimly told Calvin. "Some will stubbornly refuse to believe that the ship could be sinking and will therefore ignore the call to enter the life boats. Some will be so paralyzed with fear, they'll remain in their cabins. Nonetheless, go on and get the word out to all souls aboard."

"Which passengers shall I go to first?" Calvin hurriedly asked.

"Simply tell all who will to board the life boats. We have twenty-four life boats on deck. That is enough to save all souls aboard, but some will not be saved. You don't know who will be saved and who will not, so just let everyone aboard know about the life boats. Better some saved than none at all."

"Aye aye, captain!" first mate Calvin dutifully shouted.

Calvin left the captain's bridge and grabbing a bull horn on his way to the passenger's quarters he then began considering the dire circumstances of all the passengers and the crew. Calvin also began to mull over bits and pieces of the conversation he'd had with the captain.

"Hmmm," Calvin thought, "the captain says that he wants all on board to be saved, but then again he says that all won't be saved... he says some of them are stubborn and afraid and therefore they won't be saved... I wonder how the captain knows that? Well, no matter... he's the captain so I'm sure he knows a lot more than I know. I wouldn't save those stubborn ones either if it were entirely up to me, so I see the captain's point. And the scared ones will just get what's coming to them too. That just means more room for the rest of us..."

Calvin then walked the hallways and common areas of the ship, shouting:

"This ship is sinking! The captain says that some of you will be saved! Get into the life boats immediately so that those who will be saved can be saved!" Calvin felt a sense of authority that he'd never felt before as he shouted this message all over the ship.

But a woman with a very young child came to him and said: "My brother is on board somewhere and I cannot find him. You said that some of us would be saved. Will my brother be saved?"

"Only the captain can answer that," Calvin smugly informed her. "The captain has said that not all will be saved. I'm sure he knows which ones will be saved and which ones won't. He has a complete list of all souls on board, and I'm sure he has a list of the ones who will be saved."

"But I won't leave my brother behind. Can't he, too, be saved?" the woman desperately wondered aloud. "Where is this list?"

"You can't see the captain's list," he told her. "You, your child, and your brother may all be on that list. But then again, only some of you may be. Or possibly all of you will die. It's all up to the captain."

"Well, what if we go on and get into a life boat now? Will that mean that we're probably on the list?" the woman asked.

"No," Calvin said. "Your act of climbing into the life boat means nothing in and of itself. If you're not on the captain's list and he finds you in one of his life boats you'll be thrown out. There is nothing you can do to ensure that you're on that list--it is entirely up to the captain."

And so with that Calvin again raised the bull horn to his lips and continued shouting his warnings to all souls on board.

A middle aged man approached Calvin and asked: "Why are you telling everyone that only some of us will be saved? Shouldn't you just call everyone into the life boats? Isn't there enough room in the boats for everyone?"

"There is enough room for everyone, but the captain says that all won't be saved," Calvin said. "That's not my rule, that's his rule. I'm just the messenger."

But the man was not satisfied with Calvin's answer. "Do you mean to tell me that everyone on board could be saved, but that the captain has declared that only some will be saved? How do we know who will be saved and who will be lost? What can I do to ensure that I'm one who will be saved? And what about my wife, can I bring her onto the life boat with me?"

First mate Calvin paused a moment and pondered these questions. He did his best to remember the words that the captain had spoken to him, and made the best sense of those words that he could. "Only the captain knows who will be saved and who won't. It is not up to you or your wife whether either of you will be saved," Calvin said. "There is nothing either of you can do to affect the captain's decision--it is entirely up to him who will be saved and who will go down with the ship. So don't attempt to get into good graces with the captain now because unless you are on his list to be saved, you're going to be lost."

Continuing, Calvin then said: "But I have some good news! If you are on the captain's list to be saved, you cannot lose! So rejoice! He's a great and wonderful captain because he has picked a few of us for his good pleasure to put into the life boats. The rest of you will drown, as you well deserve to!"

"We deserve to drown?" an elderly woman shouted? "Is that what the captain said?"

"Well... yes," Calvin replied. "If you're not on the captain's list, you deserve to drown."

"And do you deserve to drown?" the woman asked Calvin.

"We all deserve to drown," Calvin said, because we're all on this ship and we're all bad people. Remember this is a casino ship, and all of us on board are gamblers. We all deserve to drown, but it is the captain's good pleasure that some of us be saved."

The woman then asked "What if we go now and beg the captain to put us on his list? Will he then do that, and so save us?"

"No," Calvin was certain. "If you were not on the captain's chosen list when you came on board, then you're not going to get on that list at all. You can't ask the captain to add you to his list because it is not up to you whether you are on that list or not. You're either on it, or you're not on it. If you asked him to put you on that list, that would mean that it is something which you did which got you onto the list. And that is not how it is. So don't waste the captain's time."

"This isn't making any sense" another woman said. "First you tell us that there is enough room in the life boats that we all could be saved. Then you say that the captain has wished that we would all be saved. Then you tell us that only some of us will be saved, and that the rest of us will perish. Then you say that it is not up to us whether or not we can be saved--you say it's entirely up to the captain no matter what we do or don't do. But you have already said that the captain would like us all to be saved. How can he wish that we all be saved and at the same time sentence some of us to drown?"

"Captain's orders," Calvin smugly replied. "That is just the way it is, and he's in charge of this ship. Deal with it."

An elderly man named George stepped forward and addressed the first mate: "Then why are you telling us these things? Assuming you are right--assuming you have not misunderstood the captain--why are you telling us these things? If the captain's list cannot be changed, why tell those of us who are not on the list that we are about to drown? Why cause such discord among the passengers? If what you say is true--if nothing can be done to affect the captain's decision as to who goes and who stays--why fret those who will drown? Why take their hope now? I see that one young man has already returned to his cabin to drown. He was about to board that life boat over there, but then he heard your words. I heard him say as he passed by me that he's sure that he can't possibly be on the captain's list. He has returned to his cabin to drown because of what you have said."

Calvin was contemplating a reply when a young woman yelled: "We want to speak to the captain ourselves. This cannot be the way of it!"

Just then a woman named Mary ran to join the crowd. "I have already spoken to the captain" she said. "I've just come from the captain's bridge and if I understand the captain correctly, it is up to each passenger whether or not they board the life boats. Room on the boats is plentiful, the captain says. He does not want any of us to die--but he says it's up to us whether or not we avail ourselves of the life boats."

"Not so fast!" Calvin scoffed. "That's not what the captain told me. And who are you anyway--some mere passenger? And you have dared to approach the captain to bother him at such a time as this?"

"The captain was very gracious to me, even loving," Mary said. And I did not get the impression that I was bothering him at all. I could feel just from being in his presence that he is very concerned for every one of us. 'Tell all who will be saved to enter into the life boats!' This is what he told me to say."

"Well I don't believe you," Calvin flatly stated. "The captain has a list and I'm sure of it. Some of you aren't on that list so you just deceive yourselves into thinking that you can ask the captain to put you on that list, even at this last minute, and he will. Ha! Go on and think such foolishness! You'll die anyway!"

Then the elderly man named George asked the first mate: "What if Mary is right? Wouldn't that be good news to you? What if any of us could ask to be put on the captain's list, and so find a place on the life boat? You seem as if you would not be happy if the captain had so arranged things."

"It doesn't matter whether I'm happy with that or not," Calvin retorted. "The captain will only save those whom he will."

George asked "What about the crew? What about you, first mate? Are you on the list? Do you plan on being in one of the life boats?"

"Certainly I do," Calvin said confidently. The captain would surely not allow me to be lost. I'm his messenger to all on board. He has confided in me, and I'm so very respectful of his authority. I believe this pleases him."

"Have you seen the captain's list?" George wanted to know.

"Well, not exactly," Calvin admitted. "But since I'm the one who the captain first told about the list, I'm certain that I'm on that list. Otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have told me about it. And besides, I have very strong admiration for the captain and I especially revere his total authority and I know how much he likes that... so I'm sure I'm on that list."

"What did you do to get on the list?" George wondered.

"Nothing. It was just the captain's good pleasure that I be on that list! That's what's so great about it! But I'm beginning to suspect that you, sir, are not on the list and you're just jealous because you're not. That's why you keep badgering me with all this nonsense! It's not my fault you're not on the list. And it's too bad for you that you can't do anything to get on the list. Too bad indeed!" The first mate seemed quite happy with himself.

And so Calvin continued, going all about the ship as it slowly sank, shouting to everyone on board that if they were one of the lucky ones--one of those chosen by the captain--they could be saved. But no one--not even those who were already seated in the life boats--could understand how Calvin could so gleefully--even pridefully--tell everyone on board that only certain ones were designated by the captain to be saved. This caused a great deal of confusion among the already frightened passengers.

Then Mary turned from the crowd and announced: "I'm going into the passenger's quarters to tell everyone what the captain has told me--that they can be saved if they'll just come up and board the life boats."

"Knock yourself out," Calvin sneered. "The ones who are actually on the captain's list are already in the boats. There's no hope for the rest of these hapless souls. You're just wasting your time!"

But within a half hour, when the water was beginning to flood the ship's deck, Mary emerged from below, leading a dozen passengers who had believed there was room on the life boats for them too. These were soaking wet, humble, and afraid, but so very thankful that someone had shown them that they could still be saved. As they boarded the life boats, first mate Calvin strolled over and announced:

"These were obviously on the captain's list the whole while! Thank goodness the captain has chosen these also!"

"We thought sure we would all drown," a man named Paul said. "We had been told that it was not the captain's will for all to be saved. Earlier this day, I had stolen money from another man's cabin while he was having his lunch. When the ship's officers came around to question me about the theft, I lied and said I had nothing to do with it. But I knew that the captain suspected me. Therefore, when I was told that only those on the captain's list could be saved, I was certain that I would not be on that list. But this woman," he said, pointing to Mary, "assured me that the captain still had room for me--even me--in one of the life boats. And this made me very happy, but also very sad. I was happy that I might not die, but I was very sad about the crime I had committed. I wanted to tell the captain that I was guilty, and would pay back double for what I had done. I wanted to apologize to the man whose money I had taken. I wanted to make things right. And I still feel terrible to even be here with you fine folks, trying to save myself from drowning. But I'm so glad that there are enough boats! I praise the captain that he will not allow me to perish for this awful thing I've done."

"Are there any other souls below deck?" George asked Mary.

And Mary's eyes welled with tears. "I called out to one young man and I told him that there was still time for him to be saved. He said that he did not deserve to be saved, and therefore he was sure that he wasn't on the captain's list that the first mate had told everyone about. I told him to just come, and not to worry about any such list. I told him I had spoken to the captain and that anyone who was willing to come would be saved." She paused a moment, her tears now streaming down her cheeks. "But he wouldn't believe me. He's still down there."

Freewill and the Doctrine of Election

One of the most divisive issues in the church today is the freewill verses predestination debate. Calvinists hold to the predestination side of things (often referred to as the "doctrine of election") and Arminians (so called after renaissance theologian Jacobus Arminius) believe that we have a freewill choice in the matter of accepting or rejecting Christ. The Arminian believes that we must choose Christ of our own volition, or we cannot enter into Heaven. The Calvinist believes that we do not have freewill, and are merely predestined to Heaven or Hell, and that there is nothing we as humans can do to affect our final destinations.

Obviously, both sides cannot be right. We either have a freewill choice in the matter of our salvation, or we do not. I believe that we most certainly do, and I'll try to illustrate just why in this document. Let's look first in the book of Romans...

Romans 8:29-30 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

The Greek word for "called" in verse 30 is "kaleo," which in this context means essentially to name or bestow a title on something, as in "God 'called' us His sheep." This is not the invitation to salvation that goes out to all mankind, which is referenced in Matthew chapter 22, verse 14:

14For many are called, but few are chosen.

In the above instance, "called" is interpreted from the original Greek word "kletos," which means to "invite." Many are invited, few are chosen. Essentially, those chosen are the ones who respond to the invitation which God extends to all mankind. In view of Matthew 22:14 the Calvinist is hard pressed to explain how some of those being called end up not being chosen. Those who accept God's invitation become the chosen, or the elect. And God knows, in His infallible foreknowledge, who those elect will be.

At the very beginning of 1 Peter, the apostle plainly states that the elect to whom he is writing are elect according to the foreknowledge of God:

1 Peter 1:1-2a 1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father...

So again, we become elect when God's foreknowledge tells Him that we will respond favorably to His universal invitation (see again Matthew 22:14). Paul and Peter have affirmed this in their writings. Foreknowledge preceeds election. I have seen Calvinists such as John MacArthur try to redefine what foreknowledge means, but their reasoning is weak, and based on much presumption. Foreknowledge means what it means. Foreknowledge does not necessarily entail causing.

God foreknows, then He calls (kaleo) some of us His own. Which ones will He call His own? Those who receive Christ, of course! That's the way the scripture reads.

Is God unfair to those He does not choose to call His own? Of course not. God is not unfair to the "un-elect" because it is due to their own natures and actions that He doesn't choose them. But these might ask, as we see in Romans 9:19b:

Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

But Paul tells them in verse 20 that they are in no position to question God for making them as they were. You see, these have misused their freewill and now want to blame God for trusting them with it!

Please understand that the only way to make Godly sense of Romans 9:19-20 is to realize that Paul is rebuking those who would accuse God of intending that they fall into Hell. What this protester is essentially saying is that since God knew that some men would fail to obtain salvation, it should follow that those who go unsaved are only falling within the will of God. But it is not God's will that any should perish--the failure is the total responsibility of the individual.

To better explain the point I would offer this analogy: A Marine Corp drill sergeant tells the new recruits that some of them will fail to complete boot camp. What if those who ultimately did fail went to the drill sergeant and said: "We were just fulfilling your will that some of us would fail. You should not blame us." But of course the truth is that those who did fail had the same opportunity to succeed as everyone else. They just blew their chance, and they failed. It's not the drill sergeant's fault; it's entirely the fault of those who failed. Just because the drill sergeant knew that some would fail we cannot assume that he intended that any fail.

Paul then asks this very interesting question: 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Now this isn't saying that God spins one man off the potter's wheel and says: "This is an honorable vessel," then, of the next guy He says "Now here's a dung bucket, whaddaya think?" Rather, Romans 9:21 is saying that God knows (and the apostle Paul knows) that some of us will shipwreck our souls because we are autonomous beings--which is exactly what God desired to create. (That's why he called Adam and Eve "good" on the sixth day--even though He knew that they would fall into sin). God knew ahead of time that some of us would use our freewill to choose against Him, and therefore author our own destruction. He knew in advance that if He were to trust mankind with freewill (a necessity if our love toward Him was to be genuine) that some would be destroyed--but this was of their own choosing, and was a necessary byproduct of giving man freewill.

So the reprobate asks, upon realizing that he has become doomed because of his foolish unbelief, "Why did God trust me with this freewill if He knew I might misuse it and therefore die?" He might further wonder aloud "Since God knew that some of us would fail, why does He blame those of us who do fail? Who resists His will?" So Paul tells this inquisitor that such manner of questioning God's sovereignty is folly.

Does God intentionally create dishonorable vessels? Let's look to 2 Timothy 2:20-21 for our answer:

20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

So we see that if a man purges himself of the negative qualities Paul mentions in the letter, then he shall be a vessel unto honor. Notice that it is the man's responsibility to purge himself. Freewill is strongly denoted here. God will of course guide our steps, but we must be willing to move our feet. If the reader has previously held to the notion that Romans 9:21 means that God intentionally makes dishonorable vessels, he should not, in full view of 2 Timothy 2:21 continue under such a delusion. We all have the God given ability to become vessels of honor. Understand that just because God knows that some of us will fail, that does not mean that He causes us to fail. There is big difference between knowing and causing.

It is helpful to realize that only freewill led, autonomous beings could truly honor and glorify God. If God made us as sock puppets (the Calvinist view, when you get right down to it), and then, as "glorified sock puppets," we turn--right on cue--and robotically glorify Him, what glory is that? True honor and glory and love toward God must come from somewhere outside Himself. Christ says in John 8:54:

54Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; (NASB)

So we see here that Christ's glory came to Him from the Father, the first member of the Trinity. We do not count Christ as less than God, so it is right to believe that God Himself does not consider self-glorification true glory.

It is true that God intentionally created man with the ability to fail or succeed. In such a design God receives true love and glory when we seek and find Him. The dishonorable vessel wonders why God created him at all, if indeed God knew in His foreknowledge that he would end up in Hell. But to have placated such men by not making them at all would be to deprive the rest of us the chance to be with God. God would like for us all to be saved, but it is our freewill that keeps some of us away from Him.

Now, as pertaining to that universal invitation, let's look at Romans chapter 1 for a moment...

Romans 1:20-21 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they (the reprobate) are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (or hardened, I think it's fair to say).

Notice that these verses indicate that those who had their hearts darkened actually knew God, but chose not to glorify Him. Since Paul labels these who did not glorify God as "without excuse" it is proper to say that they could have acknowledged God (otherwise Paul would not admonish them, rather he would pity them). So there falls the Total Depravity point of Calvinism, we should note; these could have glorified God.

When God chooses His elect, it is only because He is having mercy on us. He chooses to have mercy on those who He foreknows will accept that invitation that He speaks of in Matthew 22:14. And He chooses to harden those who He knows will reject His Son Jesus Christ. God knows the hearts of all the elect and all the reprobate. He knows the sheep, and He knows the goats. And when he has mercy on the sheep, it is mercy indeed because even these do not deserve eternal life. (For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God).

Regarding mercy and hardening...

God knows that the reprobate would never of his own volition receive Christ. And our Lord does not like lukewarmness. (See Revelation 3:15-16). God wants us to either accept and love Him, or otherwise turn completely from Him. We will then either be the recipients of mercy (if we sincerely seek God) or hardening (should we turn away from Him). This is our choice, and this decision has everything to do with whether God decides to have mercy on us or not.

Romans 9:18 says Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

This scripture doesn't indicate that God just arbitrarily, as in some great cosmic lottery, chooses a few to save at random. I think it is completely biblical to understand that this mercy for some and hardening for others is certainly based on something within the individual person's nature. God differentiates between individuals for some reason--even before they do good or evil, as it is written in Malachi, and quoted by Paul in Romans 9:13, where God said: Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

One possible characteristic in a person that is pleasing to God might be that person's response to God's creation--which is the undeniable evidence of His existence (see again Romans 1:20-21)... or the person's response to the ministering of the Holy Spirit. If God likes what He sees in His foreknowledge (remember?)--then He calls us His elect--because He knows that we will come to Jesus.

But is it even possible that an unsaved soul could act in such a way that God sees potential in them? The Calvinist would say no, but fortunately for us all the apostle Paul appears to differ: Romans 2:14-15a:

For when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness...

So it appears biblical to say that it is possible that some men, even before being saved, can respond properly--at least some of the time--to the laws which God has written on our hearts. Put another way, when we respond to and even cultivate a good conscience (notice that Paul even uses that very word "conscience" in the scripture shown above) we are moving in a Godly direction. And this is how, I would suggest, God chooses His elect. Using His foreknowledge, God saw a difference between Jacob and Esau. God knew what Esau would become, so God chose Jacob over Esau. God did not condemn Esau; Esau condemned himself. God did not predestinate Esau into Hell--Esau did this to himself. Further, God knew what Jacob would become, so God considered Jacob one of His elect.

Still speaking of Jacob and Esau, Romans 9:11 says: 11(For 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;)

"What is the purpose of God according to election?" one might ask. Many Calvinists would say that this means that God caused Esau to fail and Jacob to succeed. The poor Arminian probably hasn't a clue about what to do with this verse. So what does it mean? It means just what it says: God's purpose according to election has nothing to do with working your way toward Him. Nor does it have anything to do with willing your way toward Him. Let's look quickly at Romans 9:16:

16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

God's purpose in election has nothing to do with will or works. A man might will himself toward communion with God, but that won't get him there. A man might do all sorts of good works, hoping that God will reward him for those works, but that won't get him elected either. (And do we not see many--even among our own church congregations--who attempt to will and work themselves into heaven?)

"Well," the Calvinist might ask, "if it is not according to a man's own will that he be saved, then how do you assert that man's freewill has anything to do with it?"

There is a difference between willing oneself into favor with God, and using our God given freewill to direct our lives in such a way that God finds favor in us. The condition of our heart is the key. We reflect this in how we respond to our fellow man. Think of the parable of the good Samaritan. Our Lord speaks favorably of this man's humanitarian action. Though the Samaritan was considered by the "well-churched" to be an undesirable, Christ shows us that He is pleased with such kindness of heart.

There are untold millions of church-going, professing Christians whose hearts will sadly remain--for all eternity--without Christ. Conversely, there are millions of professing atheists who will some day be called by God to believe on Christ--and these will come home, because God will have called them His own. God knows each of us--even before we do anything good or bad. He foreknows whom He will call His own.

So God shows mercy on whom He will and He hardens whom He will--based on His foreknowledge. Remember that those being hardened are not simply victims of God's "good pleasure" as many Calvinists would have it. These recipients of God's hardening have rejected Him; they have not acknowledged His existence unto glorification--even though they could have: Romans 1:20-21 is powerful and undeniable testimony that God expects us to respond positively toward Him, based only on our observation of His creation. Those who do not respond (and the undeniable implication is that they could and should respond) are again, in Paul's words, "without excuse."

Dan Newberry