The chapter under review will likely evoke a more hostile response than any of the chapters reviewed thus far. Many unsaved people are angry at the thought of God, angry at the thought of eternal damnation, and angry with the concept of God’s sovereignty. As well, many believers are hostile to any consideration of issues they are not comfortable with. It serves no purpose to respond angrily to any discussion between committed Christians seeking to understand what the Bible teaches. With that in mind, I take up my reportage of chapter 44.
The chapter is divided into ten sections.
What Is Reprobation? Three paragraphs. The author acknowledges this is one of the hardest doctrines in the Bible to understand and accept. “Relatively few Christians believe in it. Some vigorously oppose it.” “The Westminster Confession gives us this definition which has been taught for hundreds of years by Calvinists: The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy as He pleaseth, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by, and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice.” “Reprobation is not the same as total depravity. All men are totally depraved; only some are reprobate. It is not the same as the foreordination of sin. God foreordained to allow sin to exist; reprobation is the foreordination of the punishment of some sinners. Nor is reprobation the same as the unpardonable sin, supralapsarianism, or Hyper Calvinism. Simply put, reprobation is non-election.”
A High and Humbling Doctrine. Two paragraphs. References made to Augustine, Isidore of Seville, Gottschalk, Luther, and Calvin. “This doctrine found credal expression in the Canons of the Synod of Dort, the Westminster Confession, the Baptist Confession of 1689, and others. It is explained in most of the standard Reformed systematic theologies.”
Reprobation in Romans 9. Six paragraphs. “Romans 9 is the clearest passage on reprobation in the Bible.” “He puts forth Jacob and Esau as examples.” “Paul then gives another example of reprobation: Pharaoh (v.17).”
The Potter and the Clay. Five paragraphs. “Then Paul uses the illustration of the Potter and the Clay, which the Jews would recognize from Isaiah 29:16; 45:9; 64:8; Jeremiah 18:2-6; and Lamentations 4:2.”
Other Texts on Reprobation. Seven pararaphs. Passages referred to include First Thessalonians 5:9, Acts 13:48, Second Thessalonians 2:13, John 15:16; 17:12; 15:19; 17:9. Also mentioned are First Peter 1:2; 2:8-10; Luke 2:34, and Second Peter 2:12.
Still More Texts. Six paragraphs. Matthew 7:23; 11:25-26; Luke 17:34; Romans 8:29-30; Revelation 13:8; Proverbs 16:4.
Pretermination and Pre-damnation. Seven paragraphs. “Note the divine justice in reprobation. God gave mercy to the elect, but He did not give injustice to the non-elect.”
Unconditional Reprobation. Seven paragraphs. Mention is made of contributions by Christopher Love, William Ames, Klaas Schilder, John Calvin, and John Lafayette Girardeau.
Both Election and Non-Election Are Biblical. Five paragraphs. The author’s discussion includes references to D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, Arthur C Custance, Heinrich Bullinger, John Calvin, George Whitfield, Edwin Palmer, F. F. Bruce, and concludes with a criticism of Karl Barth.
Objections. The author deals with eight objections against reprobation:
Objection 1: “Reprobation is another term for the
unforgivable blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.”
Objection 2: “Reprobation makes God the author of
sin.”
Objection 3: “The reformed doctrine of reprobation
presents God as capriciously and maliciously saying, ‘Now home am I going to
Dan today?’”
Objection 4: “Election is eternal by God, but
reprobation is temporal by man. “
Objection 5: “Only Christ is reprobate.”
Objection 6: “The doctrine of reprobation gives
lost sinners an excuse at Judgment Day: ‘You can’t condemn me. I never had a
chance. You did not elect me. You created me only to damn me.’”
Objection 7: “Doesn’t God will everyone to be
saved?”
Objection 8: “Reprobation isn’t fair!”
Conclusion. Three paragraphs.
