And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
So says John 12:32, providing definitive proof for the non-Reformed train of thought that says Jesus draws every single person on planet Earth to Himself for salvation, if each person will only then respond with a “Yes.”
If that’s the case, how then does He draw the people of Romans 11, referred to in these passages as being prophetically hardened by God in order that they will NOT come to Him?:
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”
9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
and,
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
If every single person is “drawn,” what do with those who are “hardened” so that they are not “drawn?”
Just asking…..
I was thinking of making a post with the title “Just Answering: A Response to the Lighthearted Calvinist”, but then decided not to…oh by the way this is Adam
I know. I WAS paying attention last night.
I found out about your blog on Calvinistic Cartoons today and I just did a post about John 12:32 earlier today, since you asked the question recently I’ll put my two cents worth: http://committedchristian.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-is-john-1232-talking-about.html.
I took a look at John 11:49-52, 1 John 2:1, John 10 and even some old testament prophecies (Ezekiel 34:11-16 being one of them). And I do think that the verse actually ends up revealing limited atonement.