Matthew 9:4
Matthew 9:1-8
Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”--then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Now consider what Calvinism teaches:
John Calvin: “We also note that we should consider the creation of the world so that we may realize that everything is subject to God and ruled by his will and that when the world has done what it may, nothing happens other than what God decrees.” (Acts: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.66, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “First, the eternal predestination of God, by which before the fall of Adam He decreed what should take place concerning the whole human race and every individual, was fixed and determined.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.121, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “Let him, therefore, who would beware of such unbelief, always bear in mind, that there is no random power, or agency, or motion in the creatures, who are so governed by the secret counsel of God, that nothing happens but what he has knowingly and willingly decreed.” (The Institutes of Christian Religion, Bk. 1, Ch. 16, Sect. 3, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “This, however, they erroneously confine to particular acts. The thing to be proved, therefore, is, that single events are so regulated by God, and all events so proceed from his determinate counsel, that nothing happens fortuitously.” (The Institutes of Christian Religion, Book I, Ch. 16, Sect. 4, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “First, it must be observed that the will of God is the cause of all things that happen in the world; and yet God is not the author of evil.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.169, emphasis mine)
If God decreed, fixed and determined, whatsoever comes to pass, that is, having determined all actions, then logically God must have decreed all thought, since thought is the driver of action. So if there is no such thing as independent thought, and no rogue thoughts from eternity to eternity, but rather that all thought is pre-scripted, then difficult questions arise.
One member of The Society of Evangelical Arminians: “Why are we told to ‘make every thought captive to the obedience of Christ’ but are they not already captive to the ‘sovereign decree’ of Calvinism? Also, in Matthew 9:4, why does Jesus say, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?’ if those thoughts came from His Father?”
If they could think otherwise, then it’s a great question. But if they cannot help what they think, then what’s the point of asking?
Imagine this scenario between Bill and Carl:
Bill: “So Carl, why do you think the thoughts that God gave you?”
Carl: “Because those are the thoughts that He gave me?”
Bill: “And are you ashamed of those thoughts?”
Carl: “Should I be?”
Bill: “Of course!”
Carl: “Why? They are not my thoughts.”
Bill: “They most certainly are your thoughts!”
Carl: “How are they my thoughts?”
Bill: “Well you thought them, didn’t you?”
Carl: “Yes.”
Bill: “Well, then, there you have it!”
Carl: “But I was just a medium for someone else’s thoughts. No?”
Bill: “Who are you to complain against God?”
Carl: “I’m not complaining. You asked if I’m ashamed of someone else’s thoughts that I have no control over, and the answer is no.”
As an illustration, if I drove a car into a tree,
then I did it. But if I pushed the car down a hill
and into a tree, can I say that the car did it? Any
normal person would say, “No, you pushed the
car.” A Calvinist would argue that a person isn’t
a car, but I fail to see a difference if a person has
no more control over their thoughts than the car
rolling down a hill. A Calvinist would say that a
man is a sentient being, but that’s just a fancy
way of evasion.
