Answering Tommy McMurtry of the New IFB on Unconditional Election Part 3 - Romans 9

We conclude Unconditional Election by taking a look into Romans 9, in which McMurtry uses the "nations" argument to disprove the doctrine of God's election of individuals. Asserting that they of the New IFB, who disdain Bible college, confessions, creeds, and theological works, are more equipped in keeping the Calvinists at bay on Romans 9 than the greatest Dispensational scholars that ever existed. We look into the ACTUAL context of Romans 9, how it illustrates the previous chapter on individual salvation, and that asserting it refers only to nations is a ludicrous cop out.

Entire Series Tearing Up the Tulip Response:

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The real meaning of Romans 9:11-13 requires the Bible believer to denounce the teaching of even the modern mainstream Calvinists (Piper, Sproul, MacArthur, White, etc...) and even the classic confessions of faith, because they don’t take it far enough due to their lack of recognition that the text is actually teaching consistent unconditional double predestination.

RC wrote: “This distortion of positive-positive predestination clearly makes God the author of sin who punishes a person for doing what God monergistically and irresistibly coerces man to do. Such a view is indeed a monstrous assault on the integrity of God. This is not the Reformed view of predestination, but a gross and inexcusable caricature of the doctrine.”

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When I think about the unconditional election - God, before He even created the world, knowing about every single man and woman that would exist, knowing how sinful we all are and what we have done and will do, being perfectly just to leave us dead in our sins (Eph 2:1-3) and punish us all in hell, He chose me before I ever existed (Eph 1:4-6; 2 Ti 1:9; Rev 17:8) based on nothing that I have done (Rom 9:11, 15-16, 18), sent His Son to die for me personally, and Holy Spirit to make me alive (John 1:13, 3:3-7; Rom 8:11) and seal me as the assurance of salvation (Eph 1:14-15).

Recognizing that salvation is all of God, when I consider how wicked of a sinner I am, and that there are better people than me (spiritually, morally, intellectually, etc.), and God still loved me personally and chose me and changed my dead condition and will by regenerating me and gave me the gift of faith and repentance (Eph 2:8-9), enabling me to come to Him (John 6:44, 64-65), and not those better people, truly is a humbling thought.
Such a gift, utterly undeserved. Just think of the times when in your personal life you got a gift from someone, knowing full well you did not deserve it, and in fact it was you who owed that person something... How did that make you feel? And what if that person knew that you owed them something and in spite of that gave you that gift?

The depth of God's love and mercy, and that personal choice on the part of God of certain people before they even existed, and Jesus dying for each of the elect by name (written in the book of life from the foundation of the world), personally – all of which is lost in synergistic concepts of salvation of an unnamed group, the number of which is determined not by God, but by “free will choices” of people – eliminates every opportunity of pride and boasting on the part of a saved individual and causes him/her to give all glory to God.

Truly an amazing thought.

“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” – 2 Co 9:15