Despite the clarity and rock solid Biblical foundation that Dr. MacArthur presents, as invariably is the case, someone comes out and attacks calvinism. The individual in question, one J.M. Gilbert, Jr. makes the following claim...
Mr. MacArthur,
I have enjoyed your teachings on many subjects for some time now, but cannot agree with your calvinistic views…God ordained the plan, not the individual (Eph. 3:10-11). God’s plan is simple…based upon hearing the gospel, faith in Christ is produced in the heart of the sinner. Paul wrote, “So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). This true faith leads to repentance, confession and baptism for the remission of all past sins (Acts 2:38). At the point of baptism, sin is forgiven and the Lord adds the baptized believer to His church (Acts 2:47). The blood of Christ is contacted in baptism, not by faith alone). It then becomes our task to build up the Lord’s body (church).
This is the plan by which God saves mankind.
Keep warning of the dangers of liberalism, but it is my prayer that you leave calvinism.
J.M. Gilbert, Jr.
No thought is given as to why some respond in faith to the Gospel call and others do not. Baptismal regeneration is suggested. A distortion of the Biblical doctrine of election as being merely a foreordained plan, meaning that God had a plan for redemption but apparently none were actually saved by the cross, really only the possibility of salvation was made indiscriminately available, meaning that potentially everyone could be saved or no one could be saved. This is synergism at it's worst, man acting as a partner in his own salvation.
The doctrine of election is a hard one to grasp and swallow, but that does not make it less true.
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