As a soteriological Calvinist but also pre mill and even pre trib, I can say that the grief doesn’t just come from one side. I get it in the neck from y’all too.
If Theonomy is not sound theology, what does it look like to teach nations to obey his commandments - which is an aspect of the great commision ? And what does it look like for the increase of his government to never end? Already not yet? (Already not for real)
Calvinistic inconsistency at its best display. ~12.30min mark, first they believe man is dead & blind to spiritual truth, then they say it's possible that the non-elect can do things that are actually in line with God's truth so God has to use "means" to blind them again⁉️🤦🏻♂️ & White is at his best in being as illogical in trying to explain 2Pet3:9, using some unrelated OT Scripture. The amount of ambiguity & "beating around the bush" these guys do to make their system appear Biblical is amazing. Absolutely cultic.🤷♂️
No. You've oversimplified what Dr. White said to fit your caricature of what Calvinists believe. What he said was there are times when non-elect people (Pharaoh specifically) might do something that God commands them to do simply just to "save their own hide." That motive is NOT the same thing as obedience or being "in line with God's truth." If your child cleans his or her room because they want something from you (manipulation) that is not the same thing as your child cleaning his/her room because you asked them to, or better, because they know it pleases you. It's "doing the right thing for the wrong reason." God declares in Exodus 3:19-22 how Egypt will send Israel away and in Exodus 7:2-5 God tells Moses His judgments upon Egypt would be the "means" by which God brings this about. God's purpose would be accomplished. The text doesn't say God needed to "blind" Pharaoh "AGAIN" once he was "in line with God's truth," because Pharaoh was NEVER in line with God's truth and you know this. What Dr. White suggested was that without God's hardening Pharaoh MIGHT have allowed Israel to go in order that his kingdom be spared from such decimation. Mind you, the text doesn't actually say that. What it does say is that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, AND that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Devine purpose, human culpability... not inconsistent in the least bit. Your sense of fairness is not binding on God. Later in the Q&A, Keith Foskey gives a good response about fairness and justice. You might think more deeply about that. In fulfillment of His covenant with Abraham, God uses "means" many times before He hardens Pharaohs heart. You'll note that in none of the examples I will give are the people acting "in line with God's truth," yet, they are still accomplishing His sovereign purposes. Abram's lie to Abimelech was a "means" to build Abram's wealth (Genesis 20:1-18). Joseph's brothers hatred and jealousy of him was a "means" to preserve many lives - including the brothers who sold him into slavery, and the brothers who would have rather killed him! "¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Genesis 50:19-20. The false accusations of Potiphar's wife, which were the "means" by which Joseph was imprisoned and ultimately came into contact with Pharaoh. I could list more, but why? Suffice it to say, in every instance those people acted freely according to their own will. Each did what they did for the reasons that they did it, and in so doing fulfilled the purposes of God (He ordains whatsoever comes to pass). And if God did supernaturally HARDEN Pharaohs heart to demonstrate His power and devine authority, which IS what the text says... He is holy, righteous, and just to do so. I'm sorry that this offends you. He is the LORD who gives life, and the same LORD who takes it away. He raises kings and nations, and He removes them. Lastly, He saves us by His grace through the faith that He GIFTS us to believe. "⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," Ephesians 2:8
