Proverbs 1:29

Proverbs 1:24-30 
“Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof.”

Let’s paraphrase this passage in a way that is relevant to the Calvinist vs. Arminian debate:

Notice the key portions:

  • ​I called.
  • You refused.
  • I will also laugh at your calamity.
  • Then they will call on me.
  • I will not answer.
  • They will seek me diligently.
  • They will not find me.
  • Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.
  • They spurned all my reproof.

Here I see Prevenient Grace. God called. But I don’t see Total Inability, because it says that in the day of their calamity, they will diligently seek God, but God will not answer them. I see Free Will, because I see the ability to choose, as well as the consequences of making a poor choice.