A Biblical Critique of Calvinism: Election | SBC Today.
The late Herschel Hobbs, longtime Southern Baptist pastor, writer, and denominational activist, in his commentary on The Baptist Faith and Message reminds that the freewill of man and his power of choice must not be overlooked when exploring election.24 He argues that election should not be regarded as God’s purpose to save as few as possible, but that the tenor of the Bible echoes the fact that God loves all and wishes to save as many as possible.25 Hobbs maintains that election should never be viewed as the saving of some and the neglect of others, arguing that if some are saved and others are lost regardless of what they do or do not do, what incentive is there to seek the Lord and preach the gospel?26 Like the vast majority of evangelicals, Hobbs asserts that man is not a puppet on a string and argues that election never appears in the Bible as mechanical or as blind destiny, eloquently stating that to “draw” is God’s initiative and to “come” is man’s response.27 I believe that the word “call” necessarily implies “answer.” Like the divine and human natures of Christ being paradoxically combined without confusion, God’s sovereignty and man’s freewill must both be recognized in salvation and in life. In other words, the incarnation of Jesus Christ provides a sound hermeneutical paradigm for accurately handling and correctly understanding a number of theological mysteries, namely Christology (the doctrine of the nature of Christ) and soteriology.
