Is it right to say God has mercy on some?
Question:
Best regards,
A few days ago, I came across this article, "Are We Condemning Those Who Never Heard the Gospel?" and I have been meditating on it. My observation and comment are not because I do not believe in the perfect righteousness of God, since I am a Christian, a member of the church of Christ for some decades, but rather it is to avoid giving occasion to those who twist the Word.
There is a statement in the article that says, "If God is merciful to some and not to others, those who have not received mercy cannot yet complain," which reminds me of the phrase of a Presbyterian pastor (Harry L. Reeder), who states "Justice is when God gives us what we deserve. Mercy is when it stops what we deserve. Grace is when He gives us what we don't deserve." This phrase is used by Calvinists to assert that 1) God gives grace and mercy only to some and 2) God gives justice (judgment) only to others. And such Calvinists claim that God, in doing this, is no respecter of persons, and they say things like, "If God is merciful to some [predestined for unconditional salvation] and not to others [the non-elect], those who have not received mercy cannot yet complain [because they are condemned for their own sins]."
My point is that the quoted sentence in the article gives occasion to the Calvinist to affirm his doctrine, and we should not give opportunity to such enemies of the truth. My suggestion is to re-frame the use of words and offer a broader explanation [obviously according to the Word], considering that Calvinists use such "dilemmas" as the case of the indigenous Amazonian tribe to affirm their doctrine of predestination. I know that the article's central point has to do with the gospel and the need to obey it. I know that we should not soften or make up the Word of God to please people (I am not suggesting such a thing), but we should be cautious with our words so that we do not end up agreeing with the enemies of the truth. While it is true that a Christian reading the article might understand it well without generating concerns, an unbeliever/sectarian might end up with many more questions than answers when reading the article (depending on the person's background). It would be good to address more of those questions in the article, anticipating those who raise questions against the truth at the moment.
Blessings
Answer:
I appreciate your concern about the accuracy of the articles on this website. Normally, I would send a concern like yours to the article's original author; however, Matthew Bassford passed on to his reward a year ago last fall.
Not long ago, we had an excellent study on grace here at La Vista. One of the points made at the start of the study is that just because there are groups that twist the teaching about grace, it isn't a reason to avoid digging into the topic. It is true that there will always be those who twist the truth. "And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction" (II Peter 3:15-16). Therefore, the concern should not be whether something can be twisted but whether what was stated was accurate.
After Israel sinned again, Moses pleaded with God to stay with them because they were His people. God grants Moses' request because Moses had God's favor. But God reminded Moses that it is up to the judge to decide who will get mercy, not the defendant. God told Moses, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19). The application of mercy is God’s choice, not man’s. Paul quoted this passage from Exodus and concludes: “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” (Romans 9:16). Just because you want mercy doesn’t mean you will receive mercy.
Regarding salvation, God has chosen to be merciful to all. He has offered salvation to everyone (Romans 1:16), which is something the Calvinists get wrong.
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12).
"For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all" (Romans 11:32).
"But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (Galatians 3:22).
Access to the gift of salvation is dependent on belief. After all, God offers the gift and sets the rules. Matthew Bassford's article addresses the complaint: What about people who never had a chance to believe? One of his arguments is that since we are on the receiving end of God's mercy, we are not in a position to complain if we think God's mercy is not being offered fairly. The reason Christians are motivated to teach people, even in distant lands, is because we understand how much depends on a person hearing the Gospel (Romans 10:17). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men" (II Corinthians 5:10-11). In other words, we don't decide that the rules must be changed. We understand that the Creator and Judge can do as He wishes. Instead, we work with what God has graciously given us because we don't even deserve the rich blessings He has already given us.
Where Calvinists go wrong is declaring that God decided to make all decisions. He is in control, but He left the choice of accepting His gift up to each person. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2 NKJV). He also left the responsibility of spreading the saving news to each Christian. Instead of wondering about those who might not have heard, we need to shoulder the burden and figure out ways that they might hear.
I hope this makes the matter a bit clearer.