1st Peter 2:8
1st Peter 2:7-8 (see also Isaiah 6:10)
This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
Isaiah 6:8-13: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: “Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”’ Then I said, ‘Lord, how long?’ And He answered, ‘Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, “The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”
That was a “partial hardening” of Israel, according to the apostle Paul, “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25) That is the answer to the question of when and for how long. But what about why? Acts 7:51 states: “‘You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.’” God had said: “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks; Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots. Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.” (Isaiah 65:2-5) This is also why Isaiah said: “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
John Calvin comments: “It is certain that Peter is speaking of the Jews, and the common interpretation is, that they were appointed to believe, for the promise of salvation was destined for them. But the other sense is equally suitable, that they had been appointed to unbelief, as Pharaoh is said to have been put into the position of resisting God (Exod. 9:16), and all unbelievers are destined for the same purpose.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, Hebrews and I and II Peter, p.264, emphasis mine)
Calvin adds: “This circumstance renders them doubly inexcusable, that, having been called in preference to others, they have refused to listen to God.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, Hebrews and I and II Peter, p.265, emphasis mine)
“Doubly inexcusable”? However, according to John Calvin, they are hardly excusable at all!
John Calvin writes: “When God prefers some to others, choosing some and passing others by, the difference does not depend on human dignity or indignity. It is therefore wrong to say that the reprobate are worthy of eternal destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, pp.120-121, emphasis mine)
Calvin adds: “If what I teach is true, that those who perish are destined to death by the eternal good pleasure of God though the reason does not appear, then they are not found but made worthy of destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.121, emphasis mine)
Calvin attributed this to a summary of his opponent’s characterization, which he felt was somewhat of a mischaracterization, but it is not entirely clear as to how. Consider the following, for instance:
John Calvin writes: “Solomon also teaches us that not only was the destruction of the ungodly foreknown, but the ungodly themselves have been created for the specific purpose of perishing (Prov. 16:4).” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, pp.207-208, emphasis mine)
That pretty much says it all. According to Calvinism, people are created for Hell. To the Calvinist, this recalls the Romans 9:20 rebuke of the vessels who question the Potter. However, the Calvinists also conveniently forget that the Potter’s molding is explicitly conditional, since God Himself had established the basis for His hardening as being their refusal to repent:
Jeremiah 18:6-13: “‘Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.” But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “Ask now among the nations, who ever heard the like of this? The virgin of Israel has done a most appalling thing.”’”
Who says that it’s hopeless? The Calvinists!, on account of elevating the depravity of man over the enabling grace of God. Certainly, God does not consider it hopeless to repent, when He calls their response: “appalling.” God says: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) Their disbelief was not the result of an eternal foreordination to doom. They were “appointed” to this “doom” on account of their rebellion, rather than on account of God, allegedly, creating them for the purpose of being evil monsters. God is sovereign because He is in complete control, though without controlling everyone’s decision as if they were His own. Furthermore, God is sovereign because He gets the last word. (Philippians 2:10-11)
Question: What was the appointed “doom”?
Answer: “The builders,” which is speaking of the Jewish people, were appointed to the doom of stumbling over the Messiah, on account of them being “disobedient to the word.”
Disobedience is the key. It is on this account, that God finds it fitting, to design a way in which “the disobedient” are ensnared in their disobedience. But just to be clear, God is not being tricky or unfair. Jesus, the Messiah, was in every way, a perfect Messiah, but he wasn’t what the Jews, or at least the disobedient ones, that is, the ones with a hard heart, had expected Him to be like. They expected a conqueror who would come to reestablish the sovereignty of Israel by destroying Rome. But Jesus never did this, because Israeli sovereignty was not the highest good. The highest good was spiritual healing, and this, they could not see, because they didn’t imagine that they were in need of it.
Question: On what account are they predestined to their respective ends?
Answer: Believers are predestined to salvation, and unbelievers are predestined to damnation. But you don’t have to remain as an unbeliever. Jesus died for you. Pharaoh first hardened his own heart through unbelief, which you will rarely hear Calvinists admit. (Exodus 8:15, 19, 32) Do not think that Pharaoh was some poor victim of God’s alleged, unconditional eternal decree of unbelief and reprobation. God is patient toward all, “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2nd Peter 3:9)
