XLII

XLII REPROBATION

J What doesn’t the true doctrine of reprobation mean?

1 The doctrine of reprobation does not mean that the ultimate end of God in creating anybody is his or her damnation. Both reason and revelation contradict the assumption that God has created or can create any being so He can render him damned as an ultimate goal. God is love. He is benevolent, and therefore God cannot will the misery of any being as an ultimate goal, or for its own sake. It is blasphemous to represent God as creating any being for the sake of damning him eternally as an ultimate goal of His creation.

2 Reprobation does not mean that anyone will be eternally lost for all eternity no matter what they do for their salvation, or in spite of everything they do for their salvation. When you represent God as deciding to send sinners to hell in spite of themselves, or in spite of their efforts to please God and obtain salvation, you attack the true character of God and grossly misrepresent the true doctrine of reprobation.

3 The purpose of reprobation is not to destroy reprobates. God may plan to destroy a soul because of his foreseen wickedness; but God’s plan to destroy him for this reason does not cause his wickedness, and, as a result, does not prove his destruction.

4 The doctrine of reprobation does throw any obstacles in the way of the salvation of anyone. God has not purposed the damnation of any one in such a sense that the doctrine of reprobation creates an obstacle to the salvation of any soul under heaven.

5 Nor does the doctrine of reprobation mean that God sends anyone to hell, except for his own voluntary wickedness and the punishment he deserves.

6 Nor does it mean that any one will be lost, whom God can influence by all the means that he can wisely use to accept salvation, or to repent and believe the gospel.

7 Nor does the doctrine of reprobation mean that reprobates might not be saved if they would comply with the indispensable conditions of salvation.

8 Nor does it mean that reprobation presents any obstacles preventing them from complying with the necessary conditions of salvation.

9 Nor does the doctrine of reprobation even suggest that anything hinders or prevents the salvation of the reprobate other than their perverse perseverance in sin and rebellion against God, and their willful resistance of all the means that God can wisely use for their salvation.

K What is the true doctrine of reprobation?

1 The word reprobation, both in the Old and in the New Testament, means to refuse, to cast away or reject. “People will call them rejected (reprobate KJV) silver, because the Lord has rejected them.” (Jer. 6:30) In the fixed purpose of God, the doctrine of reprobation is that God throws away and rejects certain individuals, and they are eternally lost.

2 The doctrine of reprobation is a doctrine of reason.

3 The doctrine of reprobation means that, since the Bible reveals the fact that God will finally reject some and they will be lost forever, reason tells us that if God gets rid of them, it must be according to a fixed purpose on His part to do so because of their foreseen wickedness. If God gets rid of them and they are lost forever, it must be because God both knows about it and plans it. That is, He knows that He will reject them, and He plans to get rid of them because of their foreseen wickedness. God certainly can never possess any new knowledge concerning their character and what they deserve, and since He is unchangeable, He can never have any new purpose concerning them.

4 Again, the doctrine of reprobation follows from the doctrine of election. If God plans to save only the elect on condition of their foreseen repentance and faith in Christ, it must be that He plans to reject the wicked, because of their foreseen wickedness.

5 God plans to do something with those whom He sees ahead of time will never repent. He certainly does not plan to save them. He already knows what He will do with them. What He will intend to do with them He already intends because God is unchangeable. Unchangeableness is an attribute of God. Therefore, the present reprobation of those who God will finally throw into the lake of fire is a reasonable doctrine.

6 The doctrine of reprobation is not the election of some to damnation, in the same sense that the elect are elected to be saved. God chooses the elect not only to receive salvation, but also to become holy. Election extends not only to the goal, which is salvation, but also to the conditions or means to that goal; which is the sanctification of the Spirit and believing the truth. God has not only chosen the elect to receive salvation, but also to be conformed to the image of His Son. Accordingly, He uses means with them in order to sanctify and save them. But He has not elected the reprobate to wickedness, and does not use means to make them wicked with the purpose of destroying them. He knows that His creating them, together with His providential dispensations, will be the occasion, but not the cause of their sin and consequent destruction. But their sin and destruction is not the ultimate goal that God had in view when He created them, and when God dealt with them providentially. God’s ultimate goal must always be benevolent. God’s goal must always be to promote the overall good of the universe. Their sin and damnation are only an incidental result, and not something God ever intended as a goal, or for its own sake. God can have no pleasure in either their sin or the misery that follows for its own sake. Instead, God must regard both as evils of enormous magnitude. Therefore, God does not, and cannot elect the reprobate to sin and damnation in the same sense in which He elects the saints to holiness and salvation. God chooses to save the elect, because He has a regard for and a delight in the goal of salvation. But, God chooses to destroy the reprobate, not for the sake of their destruction as a goal, or from a delight in their destruction for its own sake; but God determines to destroy them for the public good, since their foreseen sinfulness demands it. He does not use means to make them sinful, but He directs His providence to His ultimate goal, which is the good of the universe as a whole. The destruction of the reprobate is only an incidental and an unavoidable result. That is, God cannot wisely prevent this result.

7 The doctrine of reprobation is a doctrine of revelation. That this view of the subject is supported by Divine revelation, will appear when we consider the following passages:

a “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16)

b “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” (Prov. 16:5)

c “And He said to them, ‘To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that `seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’” (Mark 4:11‑12)

d “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth.’ What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:17, 22‑24)

e “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified? But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.” (2 Cor. 13:5,6)

f “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption.” (2 Peter 2:12)

g “‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” (Ezek. 18:23, 32)

h “Say to them: ‘as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11)

i “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

L These passages when thoughtfully considered reveal that:

1 Some men are reprobates, in the sense that God does not plan to save, but to destroy them, and,

2 God does not delight in their destruction. He definitely prefers their salvation, if under the circumstances in which His wisdom has placed them; He could influence them to obey Him.

3 God regards their destruction as a lesser evil to the universe, than the significant change that would have to take place in His administration and the arrangements of His government in order to secure their salvation. Therefore, because of their foreseen wickedness and perseverance in rebellion, even under circumstances that are the most favorable for their virtue and salvation that He can wisely place them, He is resolved to destroy them and reject them forever.

M Why does God reprobate or reject sinners?

1 The reprobation and destruction of the sinner is not a goal, in the sense that God delights in misery, and destroys sinners to satisfy a thirst for destruction. Since God is love, it is impossible that He should delight in their destruction.

2 God does not reprobate sinners because He is partial, or because He loves the elect, and hates the reprobate, in any sense that implies partiality. His love has no favorites, and cannot be partial.

3 God does not reprobate sinners because He lacks the interest or the desire to save them. God abundantly demonstrates His desire to save them by all His dealings with them, and the provision He has made for their salvation.

4 However, the reprobates are reprobated for their foreseen iniquities:

a “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased (reprobate) mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” (Romans 1:28)

b “Who will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self‑seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” (Romans 2:6‑11)

c “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die. Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” (Ezek. 18:4, 19‑20)

d “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10)

e “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7)

f “Knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.” (Eph. 6:8)

g “Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:24)

h “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Rev. 22:12)

i “For what purpose to Me comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.” (Jer. 6:30)

Remember, that the reason why God reprobates anyone is because they are unwilling to be saved. In other words, they are unwilling accept salvation on the terms that God alone can consistently save them. Ask sinners if they are willing to be saved, and they may all sincerely say yes - if they can be saved on their own terms. But when you tell them the terms of gospel salvation; where they are required to repent and believe the gospel, forsake their sins, and give themselves up to the service of God, they will, one by one, all begin to make excuses. Now, to accept these terms, they have to consent to them. For them to say that they are willing to accept salvation, while they actually do not accept it, either they deceive themselves, or they blatantly lie. To be willing is to accept salvation; and the fact that they do not heartily consent to, and embrace the terms of salvation, is proof that they are not willing. Yes, sinners, you reject the only terms that can possibly save you. If you simply pretend that you are willing, you insult God. The only true reason why not all of you are Christians is that some of you are unwilling. God never made you unwilling. You are not willing because you are reprobate; but you are reprobate because you are unwilling.

5 However, you may ask, “why doesn’t God make us willing? Is it because He has reprobated us, that He does not change our hearts and make us willing?” No, sinner, it is not because He has reprobated you; but because you are so obstinate that He cannot wisely, and in consistency with the public good; take the drastic measures that are necessary to convert you. Here you are waiting for God to make you willing to go to heaven, while you are diligently using every means possible to get to hell. Yes, you are putting forth more effort to get to hell, than you need to insure your salvation. You tempt God, and then turn around and ask Him, “Why doesn’t He make me willing”? Now sinner, let me ask you, do you think you are a reprobate? If so, what do you think the reason is that has led the infinitely loving God to reprobate you? There must be some reason; what do you suppose it is? Did you ever seriously ask yourself, what is the reason that a wise and infinitely loving God has never made you willing to accept salvation? It must be for one of the following reasons. Either:

a He is a wicked, evil being, and wills your damnation for its own sake; or:

b He could not convert you even if He thought it was wise to do so.

c You behave in such a way in the circumstances you are in, that, to His infinitely benevolent mind it appears unwise to take such the course that would be necessary to bring you to repentance. The change in the administration of His government, that God needs to make to make you willing, would not be wise.

6   Now, which of these three reasons do you think it is? You will not probably take the ground that He is wicked and desires your damnation because He delights in misery; and I don’t think you will take the ground that He could not convert you even if He thought it was wise to do so.
     The only reason left is that your heart, and conduct, and stubbornness, are so abominable in His sight that He sees that to use any further means with you to try to secure your conversion would actually do more harm than good to His kingdom. I don’t have the time right now to argue the question whether you, as a moral agent, could resist any possible amount of moral influence that God could bring to bear on you consistently with your moral freedom.
     You may ask how I know that the reason why God does not make you willing is because He sees that it would be unwise for Him to do so. My answer comes from these two facts: 1) that He is infinitely benevolent, and 2) that God does not actually make you willing. I do not believe that God would neglect to do anything that He saw was wise and benevolent in the great matter of man’s salvation. Who can believe that God could give His only‑begotten and well‑loved Son to die for sinners, and then neglect any wise and benevolent means for their salvation?
     No, sinner, if you are a reprobate, it is because God saw ahead of time that you would do just what you are doing; that you would be so wicked that you would defeat all the efforts that He could wisely make for your salvation. What a variety of means He has used with you! At one time, He has thrown you into the furnace of affliction; and when this has not softened you, He has turned around and loaded you with favors. He has sent you His word. He has striven by His Spirit. He has drawn you to the cross. He has tried to melt you by the groaning of Calvary; and tried to drive you back from the way to death by rolling in your ears the thunders of damnation. At one time, clouds and darkness have rolled round about you. The heavens have thundered over your head. Divine vengeance has hung out, all around your horizon, the ominous clouds of coming wrath. At another time, mercy has smiled on you from above like the noonday sun, breaking through an ocean of storms. He urges every motive. He asks heaven, earth, and hell, to constantly contribute considerations to move your stony heart. But you deafen your ears; you close your eyes; and you harden your heart. You cry out, “Cause the holy one of Israel to cease from before me” (Isaiah 30:11) And what can we conclude from all of this? How must all this end? “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord has rejected them” (Jer. 6:30)

N When does God reprobate sinners?

1 Concerning the act of casting them away, God rejects sinners only when, and not until, the cup of their iniquity is full.

2 Concerning the purpose of reprobation, God reprobates or rejects sinners from eternity past. We can base this conclusion on the omniscience and immutability of God. God certainly has had all the knowledge He ever can or will have of the character of all men from eternity, and He must have planned from all eternity everything concerning mankind which He will ever plan. This follows from His unchangeableness. If He ever does reject sinners, God must do it on purpose. He cannot do it without any purpose. He must therefore do it purposely. But, if God does it on purpose, it must be either that He eternally entertained this purpose, or that He has changed. But to change His purpose or design is inconsistent with the moral immutability of God. Therefore, the purpose of reprobation is eternal. The reprobates were, in the fixed purpose of God, thrown away and rejected from eternity.

O Reprobation is just.
Is God not just to let men make their own choices, especially when God holds out the highest possible motives to them to encourage them to choose eternal life? What! Isn’t it just to reprobate men when they obstinately refuse salvation when God has done everything that is consistent with His infinite wisdom and unselfish love to save them? Shall not men be willing to be either saved or lost? What shall God do with you? If you aren’t willing to be saved, then why should you object to others being damned? If reprobation, under these circumstances, is not just, I challenge you, sinner, to tell us what is just.

P       Reprobation is an act of love.
     It was pure unselfish love in God to create men, although He saw ahead of time that they would sin and become reprobate. If He saw ahead of time that, overall, He could secure such an amount of virtue and happiness by means of moral government, that would more than counterbalance the sin and misery of those who would be lost, then certainly it was a dictate of God’s love to create them. The question was, whether God should create moral beings, and whether God should establish moral government, when He could foresee that a lot of evil would be the incidental consequence of such a creation. Whether this would be benevolent or not, must turn on the question of whether a good might be secured that would more than counterbalance the evil. If the virtue and happiness, that God could secure by administering His moral government, would greatly out measure the incidental evils that would come from the defection of a part of the subjects of this government, it is clear that a truly benevolent mind would choose to establish the government, in spite of the accompanying evils to the contrary. Now, if those who are lost deserve their misery, and they bring it on themselves by their own choice when they could have been saved, then there certainly can be nothing inconsistent with justice or unselfish love. God must have a moral government, or there can be no such thing as holiness in the created universe. For holiness in a creature is nothing more than voluntarily conforming to the government of God.
     Since the penalty of the law, although it is infinite, could not secure universal obedience under the wisest possible administration of moral government; and since many sinners will not be reclaimed and saved by the gospel, one of the following three things must be done. 1) God must abandon all moral government. 2) God must annihilate the wicked. 3) God must reprobate the wicked and send them to hell. Now, God will never abandon His moral government. Annihilation would not be just. Annihilation would not adequately express the abhorrence that God regards violating His law, and therefore it would not meet the demands of public justice. Now, since sinners really deserve eternal death, and since their punishment may be of real importance to the universe in creating a respect for the authority of God and thus strengthening His government, it is plain that their reprobation and damnation makes the best use of the wicked for the general good.
True, God views the loss of a soul as a great evil, and He always will look upon it that way. God would gladly avoid the loss of any soul if it were consistent with the wisest administration of His government. How slanderous, damaging, and offensive it must be to God, to say that He created sinners on purpose to damn them. He pours forth all the tender yearnings of a father over those whom He is obliged to destroy.
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.” (Hosea 11:8) And now, sinner, can you find it in your heart to accuse the blessed God of a lack of love?
“Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33)

Q How may we know who are reprobates?
It may be difficult for us to determine with certainty who are reprobates in this world; but there are so many examples of reprobation given in the Bible, that by a sober and judicious investigation, we can form a pretty accurate opinion, whether we or those around us are reprobates or not.

1   A long course of prosperity in sin is evidence of reprobation. The Psalmist says it this way: “When the wicked spring up like grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever”. (Psalms 92:7) God often gives the wicked their portion in this world, and lets them prosper and grow fat like a stalled ox, and then brings them forth to the slaughter.
     “But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly” (2 Peter 3:7)
     Therefore, when you see an individual prospering in his sins over a long period of time, there is good reason to fear that this person is a reprobate. In this passage, inspiration assumes the truth of the difference between evidence and proof. The Psalmist never wanted you to think that he was stating a universal truth. He did not mean that prosperity in sin was conclusive proof that the prosperous sinner is a reprobate. But the least that he could have meant was, that such prosperity in sin provides alarming evidence of reprobation. We can call it, presumptive evidence.

2 Habitual neglect of the means of grace is a mark of reprobation. If God is going to save at all, it is through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth; and it is probably true that not one in ten thousand of those people, who habitually avoid places where God presents His claims, are saved. I know that sometimes a tract, or a conversation or the prayer of some friend, may awaken an individual and lead him to the house of God. However, generally, if a man stays away from the means of grace and neglects his Bible, it is a fearful sign of reprobation, and that he will die in his sins. He is voluntarily avoiding God, and he does not neglect the means of grace because he was reprobated, but he was reprobated because God saw ahead of time that he would take this course. Suppose a pestilence was spreading that was certain to prove fatal in every situation where you did not apply the appropriate remedy. Now, if you wanted to know who among the sick were certain to die with the disease, if you found any among them who were neglecting and despising the only appropriate remedy, you would know that they were the people who would certainly die with the disease.

3 Those who have grown old in sin are probably reprobates. It is a sad and alarming fact, that a vast majority of those who give their lives to Christ are converted under twenty‑five years of age. Look at the history of revivals, and see for yourself. Even in those revivals that have manifested the greatest power, it is interesting how so very few elderly people were converted. The men whose hearts are set on attaining some worldly object, and determined to achieve their worldly goals before they will attend to religion and yield to the claims of their Maker expecting to be converted afterwards, are almost always disappointed. Such a cold calculation stinks in the sight of God. What! Take advantage of His forbearance, and say that, because He is merciful, you will continue in sin until you have secured your worldly goals and worn yourself out in the service of the devil, and then turn to your Maker with the jaded remnant of your abused mortality! Don’t expect God to set His seal of approval on such a decision, and allow you to triumph saying that you served the devil as long as you wanted to, and still managed to get into heaven.

4 Absence of chastisements is a sign of reprobation. God says in the epistle to the Hebrews: “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you like a son, for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” (Heb. 12:5-8)

5 When God chastened men and it doesn’t reform them, it is a mark of reprobation. A poet once said, “When pain can’t bless, heaven abandons us in despair”. God says of such, “Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more.” (Isaiah 1:5) When your afflictions are unsanctified, when you harden yourselves under His stripes, why shouldn’t He leave you to fill up the measure of your iniquity?

6 Embracing damnable heresies is another mark of reprobation. Where people seem to be given up to believe a lie, there is serious reason for fearing that they are among those whom God sends strong delusions, that they may believe a lie, and be damned, because they do not obey the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. Where you see people giving themselves up to such delusions, the more certainly they believe them, the greater reason we have for believing that they are reprobates. The truth is so plain, that with the Bible in your hands, it is next to impossible to believe a fundamental heresy without being turned over to the judicial curse of God. It is so hard to believe a lie with the truth of the Bible before you, that even the devil cannot do it. Therefore, if you reject your Bible, and embrace a fundamental falsehood, you are more stupid and blind than the devil is. When a man professes to believe a lie, almost the only hope of his salvation that remains, is that he does not seriously believe that lie. Sinner, beware how you belittle God’s truth. Often, individuals started out arguing in favor of heresy for the sake of argument and because they love to debate. However, they eventually believe their own lie and are lost forever.

R Objections

1 Concerning the idea that God rejected the reprobate for their foreseen wickedness, the Bible says, “The Lord has made all things for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” (Prov. 16:4) Some believe that this passage teaches that God made reprobates so He could destroy them.
To this I reply, that even if He created them to destroy them, it does not follow that their destruction was an ultimate goal, or something that He delighted in for its own sake. It must be true that He planned from eternity to destroy them in view of their foreseen wickedness; and of course, He planned their destruction even before He created them. In one sense then, it is true, that He created them for the day of doom, that is, in the sense that He knew how they would behave and, as a result, planned to destroy them even before He created them. But this is not the same as His creating them for the sake of their destruction as an ultimate goal. God had another and a more important ultimate end, which was a benevolent end. He says “The Lord has made all things for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” (Prov. 16:4), that is, He had some great and good goal to accomplish by them and by their destruction. He saw ahead of time that He could use them for some good purpose in spite of their foreseen wickedness, to manifest His justice, and thus show forth His glory, and thereby strengthen His government. God must have foreseen that the good that might result to Himself and to the universe from His overruling providence, would more than compensate for the evil of their rebellion and destruction; and because of this He created them, knowing that He would destroy them. That their destruction was not the ultimate reason why He created them, must follow from scriptures like the following:

a “Say to them: ‘as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11)

b “‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezek. 18:23)

c “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

d “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:8, 16)

e “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (Heb. 2:9)

2 Another objection to the doctrine of reprobation is based on the following Scripture: “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,” (Romans 9:20‑23)
From this passage many have concluded, that God creates the character and disposes of the destinies of both saints and sinners with as absolute and as irresistible a sovereignty as that exercised by the potter over his clay. They believe that God creates the elect for salvation, the reprobate for damnation, and forms their characters for their respective destinies with an infinitely irresistible and efficient sovereignty. They say that His ultimate goal was His own glory in both situations, and that the value of His goal justifies the use of such means. To this I reply:

a That it is absurd to talk about creating any moral character by an irresistible efficient sovereignty. This is naturally impossible because that statement contradicts itself. Moral character must be the result of proper voluntary action, and God cannot form the moral character of the vessels of wrath or of mercy by any irresistible influence whatever.

b Nowhere in this passage does it say that God used the same agency in forming the character of the vessels of wrath, as He used in forming the character of the vessels of mercy. Concerning the vessels of wrath, this passage simply says that they are “prepared for destruction,” that is, that their characters are adapted for hell; while, concerning the vessels of mercy, this passage says “that He might make known the riches of His glory.” The vessels of wrath prepared themselves for destruction under light and influence that should have made them holy. God engaged and directed the voluntary agency of the vessels of mercy, who were prepared beforehand for glory, by the special grace and influence of the Holy Spirit.

c But the lump spoken about in this passage does not describe either the original creation of men or forming or creating within them any kind of wicked character. But the text clearly treats them as already existing just like the potter’s clay already exists; and also that they are already sinners. God may reasonably proceed to form out of this lump, vessels of wrath or of mercy as seems wise and good to Him. He may appoint one portion to honor and another to dishonor, depending on what the highest good demands.

d Those who insist that God will destroy the reprobate for His own sake, therefore implying wickedness in God, cannot use this passage we are examining. Hear what it says: “What if God, willing to show His wrath, and make His power known, endured with much long‑suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory?” Here it appears that God planned to show and make known His attributes. This cannot have been an ultimate, but must have been a proximate goal. God’s ultimate goal must have been the highest glory of Himself, and the highest good of the universe as a whole. If God wants to make known His holiness and His mercy so He can secure the highest good of the universe, who has a right to say, “what are You doing” or “why do you do what You are doing”?

3 Another objection is, if God knew that they would be reprobate or lost, why did He create them in the first place? If He knew that the result would be damnation, and yet He still created them, it follows that He created them to destroy them. Let me respond by saying that, just because God knew when He created them that they would be reprobate, it does not follow that their destruction was the reason why He created them. He created them, not for their sin and destruction as an ultimate goal, but for another and a good goal in spite of His foreknowledge of their sin and ultimate ruin.

4 Another objection is that, if God planned to make known His attributes in the salvation of the vessels of mercy, and in the destruction of the vessels of wrath, He must have planned their characters as well as their end, since their characters are indispensable conditions of this result.
My reply is, although it is true that the characters of both the vessels of wrath and of mercy must have been in some sense purposed or designed by God, it does not follow that He planned them both in the same sense. The character of the righteous would be born within them through the invited entry of the Holy Spirit. God would allow the character of the wicked to form within any individual who refuses any and all help from the Holy Spirit. God planned to allow the wicked to choose their destiny rather than to interfere in such a way that would prevent sin, because, even though it appears hateful all by itself, God has a greater good in view. The righteous He planned to influence, because of the pleasure He has in holiness, and because of the positive effect holiness has on the righteous one, and on the universe as well.

5 Some object to the doctrine of reprobation saying that if one is a reprobate it is useless for him to try to be saved. They say that if God knows what he will be in character, and plans his destruction, it is impossible that it should be different from what God knows and plans, and therefore one might just as well give up in despair.

a To such an objection let me say that, because you do not know if are a reprobate, therefore you should not despair.

b If God plans to throw you away, even though you cannot know this, it is only because He foresees that you will not repent and believe the gospel; or in other words, God will reject you for your voluntary wickedness. He knows ahead of time that you will be wicked simply because you will be wicked, and not because the fact that He knows ahead of time makes you wicked. Neither His foreknowledge concerning your character, nor His plan to reject you because of your character, has anything to do with making you wicked. Therefore, you are perfectly free to obey and be saved, and the fact that you will not, is no reason why you should not.

c        Using this same reasoning, you can make the same objection to everything that takes place in the universe. God infallibly knows everything that did, or will, or can occur in the universe just as much as He knows the fact of your wickedness and final destruction. God also has a fixed and eternal plan about everything that ever did or will occur. He knows how long you will live, where you will live, and when and where you will die. His purposes concerning these and all other events are fixed, eternal, and unchangeable. Why, then, don’t you live without food and say, I cannot make one hair black or white; I cannot die before my time, nor can I prolong my days beyond the appointed time, no matter what I do; therefore, I won’t take care of my health? Because that would be unreasonable.
     Why not apply this objection to everything, settle down in despair, and never do or be anything? Why don’t you simply resign yourself to fate? The fact is that the true doctrine, whether it is election or reprobation, does not lend any support to such a conclusion. The foreknowledge and plans of God concerning our conduct or our destiny, does not interfere with our free will at all. We would act just as freely as if God neither knew nor planned anything about our conduct. Suppose a farmer applied this same objection to sowing his seed, and to plowing and harvesting to secure a crop, what would you think of him? Yet, that same farmer, who would not dare to plead the foreknowledge of God as an excuse to not plant his crops, may turn around and use the foreknowledge and plans of God as an excuse for doing nothing to secure his salvation. God knows today whether you will sow and whether you will have a crop, and has known this as perfectly as He ever will from eternity past. He has planned either that you will, or that you won’t, have a crop this year from all eternity; and the events will happen just as He has seen and planned ahead of time. Yet, you are really just as free to raise a crop, or to neglect to even plant that crop, as if He neither knew nor planned anything about it.
     The man who stumbles at either the doctrine of election or reprobation will probably stumble at everything that takes place, and will never try to accomplish anything at all. Because the plans and the foreknowledge of God extend equally to everything; and unless God has clearly revealed how it will be, we are left in the dark concerning any event, and we are left to use means to accomplish what we desire or to prevent what we dread just as if God knew and planned nothing about it.

6 But, some object saying that this is a discouraging doctrine, and will probably be a stumbling‑block, and therefore reprobation should not be taught. Here is my answer:

a The Bible clearly teaches this doctrine. Reprobation also follows from the attributes of God as God reveals them to our reason. The scriptures that teach it are no more likely to be a snare and a stumbling‑block, than the definition and explanation of the doctrine.

b The proper statement, explanation, and defense of the doctrines of election and reprobation, are important to a proper understanding of the nature and attributes of God.