Do We Chose Christ?

Is it permissable to encourage unbelievers to "choose" Christ? This was a question posed by Dan Phillips at the Pyromanicacs blogsite. Periodically he presents a question for the purpose of sparking a debate among readers and recently posted the question, "Are Calvinists obliged to snort, jeer and mock at every use of the verb choose (or decide) where God is not the subject?" In other words is the proclamation to the unregenerate to choose to follow Christ or other such verbage legitimate knowing that they are dead in sin, unable to choose, etc.

Three responses were offered and I thought I'd post them for your enlightenment.

The first response:

An anonymous hymnist in the late nineteenth century wrote, "I sought the Lord, and afterwards I knew he moved my heart to seek him." I believe that is the experience of most Christians - even most Calvinists. It is certainly mine. So why would I suddenly expect a new believer to know right away what I only knew “afterward”? The gospel message ends with “Come and believe,” and that involves choice. It is only through growth in grace that we come to perceive the sovereign action by which God led us to that choice. As with any of the finely balanced truths which surround the doctrine of conversion, the truth about decisions can easily be twisted. When an evangelist says, “The decision is now yours; God has done His part and you must do the rest,” he speaks an untruth about the God who saves, but if he says merely, “It’s time for you to decide to turn away from sin and to trust in Jesus,” is he really saying anything more than “Choose this day whom you will serve”?

Another response:

It's funny that it's OK to say that we are commanding people to obey the Gospel, and when they do we get offended that they would say so. If they are cut to the heart, and ask 'what shall I do?', tell them what they should do, and help them do it. If you're rather not call that a decision, well, don't let you semantics get in the way of their repentance.

And finally:

Upon first realizing I believed the doctrines of grace, I often made this mistake. Ive also tried to explain the doctrines of grace in a way that misses the point that: We do choose Him. He wants His elect to choose Him. Now, the fact that they are totally incapable of choosing Him without His divine calling does not change the fact that being elect means we WILL call upon the name of the Lord! The issue is not whether you chose, praise be to God He makes Himself lovely in our eyes and stirs us to WANT Him. the issue is why did you choose? And I think that conversation can be had in a way that does not discourage or minimize their "decision" but causes them to rejoice in the goodness of God all the more!

posted by john d.