Dear Brother Guinit,
 
            I am sending you my reply to your letter dated January 14,1994. Probably, you have been anxious to receive my reply but I’m hoping that you understand my situation that I am a very busy person just like you. It's good that our discussion is through letters because of its many advantages. 1) It will enable us to go on exchanging ideas despite our being busy. 2) Pressures that lead to a heated argument, which is unhealthy for Christian brothers, can be avoided. 3) There is sufficient time to prepare answers to questions; and 4) Written statements can hardly be changed and are good basis for discussions. I believe discussion through letters is helpful to both of us because it will encourage us to study the Bible more and more without time pressure.

              Now, I would like to make suggestion. Just as I have answered all your questions, I hope you will answer all my questions. In fact, though I have so many questions to ask you, I limited my questions to 20 so that you will have time to answer all of them. Asking questions is one way of testing or examining the soundness of a person's doctrine. I also welcome comments or questions regarding my letters or write-ups.

              I hope you and any brother or sister who will have an opportunity to read this letter will understand that the intents of this letter is not to brag nor put a brother down; rather, with Brotherly love and concern, show him and others the right doctrines. As we engage in this discussion through letters, it is my desire that Christian's spirit of humility and sportsmanship prevail.

                 May the Lord bless you and your family.

                                                                                             Brotherly yours,
 
                                                                                              Edwin Jardinel
 

January 26, 1994

My Dear Readers:

This letter is my reply to Brother Catalino Guinit Junior's letter which he sent me dated January 14,1994.Brother Guinit is a friend of mine and I am willing to have a brotherly and productive discussion with him through letters without hurting our friendship. The Bible says that the spiritual man is "...comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (1Cor.2: 13). I'd like to make some comments regarding Brother Guinit's letter dated January 14,1994.

Obviously, Brother Guinit did not clearly understand my doctrinal position. He thought that I also believe what the Calvinists teach that God was involved or the cause of Pharaoh's disobedience. I have never taught such kind of erroneous doctrine. The truth is that it was a Calvinist friend who tried to convince me and wrote that God hardens the heart of some men and is involved in their sinful actions. My write-ups with the title, "Did God Ordain Sin and Unbelief?" was intended to refute his doctrinal errors. I didn't have to argue with him with whatever statement, which can be found in the Bible because it will only lengthen the discussion. My Calvinist friend, Cecilio Mangubat Jr. quoted from the Bible the statement, "I (God) will harden his heart that he shall not let the people go" Exodus 4:21b, when he said that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Is the Bible's statement wrong? Brother Guinit thinks such Biblical statement is wrong and he's afraid and cannot use such statement in his writings. Do I have to argue with Brother Mangubat about words, which are not necessary to be discussed? I can quote the Bible's statement with a different meaning from the Calvinists in mind. When I mentioned in my write- ups the words,"...God hardens the heart of some men", I mean that God ceases to extend the call of salvation to some sinners due to their continuous resistance as they were deceived and hardened by sin. In my write-ups entitled, "Did God Ordain Sin and Unbelief?", I explained:

"Romans 1:21-28 - In these passages, the words 'God gave them up' were mentioned several times. In Hebrews 3:7-13, the Holy Ghost has been speaking to sinners, 'Harden not your hearts'. The writer of Hebrews emphasized the need to listen to the voice of the Spirit and to believe. He warns about the danger of unbelief and the deceitfulness of sin, which causes man's heart to be hardened. When a sinner keeps on resisting the Holy Spirit's call to salvation and he hardens himself by his deceitful sins, then, there will come a time when God ceases to extend the call of salvation. As the Bible says, 'God gave them up... God gave them over to a reprobate mind'. (Rom.1: 24,26 & 28). Then the Devil grabs every opportunity to lead the reprobate to sinful practices such as mentioned in verses 24-32."

I am glad that though Bro. Guinit is a Calvinist; he disagrees with some real Calvinistic teachings. He is a half-baked Calvinist and is opposed to the teachings of his fellow Calvinist.

Bro. Guinit says: "God did not harden the heart of Pharaoh in order to cause Pharaoh to rebel against this divine command: LET MY PEOPLE GO!!!” He also says, "There is no more necessity for God to harden the heart of a sinful man. It is illogical and impractical for God to harden man's heart that is already hardened." (Guinit's letter, January 14, 1994, p.4).
Brother Mangubat, on the contrary, says, " Many passages speak of God hardening hearts." He further says, "But in any case, whether God hardened hearts as a punishment for their sins or not, God did cause them to be stubborn and obstinate. God caused their sin to come to pass."   (C. Mangubat Jr's letter, "God ordained Sin and Unbelief ", p.1).

Brother Guinit says: "To cause sin was not really in God's Eternal Plan. This was never in the heart of God." (Guinit’s Letter, p.3).
Brother Mangubat contradicted him as he says, "God caused their sin to come to pass... Several texts speak of God sending evil or lying spirit that caused a person to sin... " (Mangubat’s Letter, p.3).

Brother Guinit says, "In the Holiness of God He cannot involve in any sin, He cannot harden a heart of man causally " (Guinit’s letter, pp.3-4). But ...
Brother Mangubat opposed him by saying, "Certain texts speak of God's involvement in the lives of people who have fallen into sin" (Mangubat’s letter, p.3)

Brother Guinit says, "God's decree does not cause man to commit sin. God's decree is only permissive as far as sin is concerned." (Guinit’s letter, p.6).
Brother Mangubat on the other hand says, "Nevertheless, it would not do justice to Scriptures to say that God simply permitted Satan to incite David. Just as Christ's crucifixion was determined by God, so David's sin was determined by God" (Mangubat's letter, p.4).

Calvinists Brother Mangubat and Brother Guinit, believe that ALL EVENTS ARE DECREED BY GOD. However, they do not have the same reply when asked with the question,    "Is it God's will that some men will commit sin such as sin of unbelief, rape murder, blasphemy and idolatry, etc?" Brother Mangubat boldly declared his doctrinal position by saying, "God Ordained Sin and Unbelief". However, Brother Guinit turned his back from his fellow Calvinist as he seemed to deny that God ordained sin and unbelief in favor of true Baptist's belief when he said, "God decreed to permit sin, and by permission God is not the efficient cause of sin" (Guinit's letter, p.5). Consequently, Bro. Guinit is contradicting his own doctrines or beliefs

BROTHER GUINIT VERSUS BROTHER GUINIT

Brother Guinit says, ''All events are decreed by God" (Guinit's letter, p.2). However...
Brother Guinit opposed himself by saying, "God's decree is only permissive as far as sin is concerned" (Guinit's letter, p.6). He also says, "Please understand our teaching: GOD DECREED TO PERMIT SIN AND BY PERMISSION GOD IS NOT THE EFFICIENT CAUSE OF SIN" (Same letter, p.5).

I wonder if he really believes that all events are decreed by God. Does he believe that God decreed sin and unbelief? By adding the word  "permit" the sentence will have a different meaning. God's act of permitting sin is one event and man's act of committing sin is another event. God decreed to permit sin but He did not decree that anyone should sin or reject Christ. Does Brother Guinit agree that God did not decree that any person commit sin and reject Christ yet He decreed to permit men to make a choice between right and wrong, and to sin if they choose to do so? If he agrees, then, he is contradicting his first statement that ALL EVENTS ARE DECREED BY GOD.
 
Brother Guinit says: "Election and predestination are always unto life.  All men in God's justice are bound to hell" (Guinit's Letter, p.4).  However, this is contradicted by another statement of...
Brother Guinit, when he said, "All events are decreed by God".

Calvinists agree that the words "decree" and "ordain" have similar meanings and are often used interchangeably.  Sometimes, Calvinists expressed it in this way, "All events are ordained by God".  Brother Guinit also equates the words, "election" and "ordination". He said, "When foreknowledge refers to persons or deals with a person, it means to LOVE, CHOOSE, or ORDAIN" (Guinit's letter, p.11).  Does he really believe that only the beloved elected individuals are ordained by God to life?  Does he not believe also that some men are ordained by God to reject Christ and go to hell?  Since he believes that God ordained all events to happen, then he believes that God ordained some men to go to hell.  Since he equates the word "ordain" with the word "elect", therefore, he also believes that God elected some men to go to hell.  What a big inconsistency!
 
 
Brother Guinit says, "God's knowledge is limited to save". (Guinit's Letter, p.11). However, there is a contradiction when...
Brother Guinit says, "The Calvary's cross is not fenced where on a signboard reads, non- elect not allowed" (Same letter, p. 7). He further quoted the song, "There's room at the cross for you" as he tried to communicate that there's room for all, including the non-elect, at Calvary's cross. Was he really sincere in saying that? How could there be room for the non-elect at Calvary's cross if Christ died only for the elect? Is it possible for God to sincerely offer salvation to the non-elect apart from the blood of Jesus? How could there be room for the non-elect in Calvary's cross if God's ability to save is limited only to the elect? Brother Guinit is contradicting himself.

God's decree is God's eternal plan or purpose.
The Devil's evil plan is not God's plan;
Therefore, God did not decree the evil plan of the devil

Bro. Guinit teaches that foreknowledge and foreordination means God planning his own action.
However, he also teaches that the sinful actions of man were not really in God's eternal plan;
Therefore, God did not foreordain the sinful actions of man. (Guinit's Letter, p 9 &p 3).

God decreed to permit the sinful action of man.
However, God did not decree the sinful action of man,
Therefore, God did not decree all events that happen.

In 2 Peter 3:9, the Calvinists interpret the words "usward", "any", and "all" with reference only to the elect.  So, observe the following syllogisms:
 
                 It is God's will that the elect (any) will not perish
                 Some people are not elect; therefore,
                 It is God's will that some people will go to hell and perish.
 
                 It is God's will that all elect will come to repentance
                 Some people are not elect, therefore,
                 It is God's will that some people will not repent.

However, If we interpret the words "any" and "all" with reference to all men in this world, the result will be right:

                  It is God's will that all men will repent
                  Some people do not repent, therefore,
                  Some people resist the will of God.

QUESTION TO BROTHER GUINIT'S TEACHINGS

Brother Guinit says, "...God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Because this means, God left man to act according to his sinful inherent nature. God withdrew his grace" (Guinit's Letter, p. 3).

Questions:

1. What do you mean by the statement, "God hardened the heart of Pharaoh"?
    Do you mean that...
  a) God influenced Pharaoh to sin and disobedience.
  b) God withdrew the grace he extended to Pharaoh.
2. If you believe that God "withdrew His grace to Pharaoh”, is it possible for God
    to withdraw His grace if He had not extended His grace to Pharaoh?
3. What is the reason why God withdrew His grace to Pharaoh? Did He withdrew
    His grace because...
  a) God wants Pharaoh to act in a sinful way.
  b) Pharaoh wants to act in a sinful way; so, God permitted him.
4. If your answer to the above question is letter b, do you agree that God
    permitted men to make a free choice, either to accept God's grace or reject it?
5. Did God extend grace to Pharaoh so that he will...
  a) Believe God.
  b) Reject God.
6. Whose WILL is it that a man rejects Christ?  a) God or b) man

Brother Guinit says, "God is so sincere in telling people about His wrath and justice as well as His love and mercy. God's sincerity in revealing His word is not based on the ability or inability of His creature to respond" (Guinit's Letter, p.6).

Questions:

1. Did God plan in eternity and decree that some people will reject Christ?
2. Did Christ desire that some people, particularly, those who rejected Him, will repent and believe? (Matt.11: 20-24).
3. Did Christ sincerely offer salvation to people who heard His preaching (during His earthly ministry) and rejected him?
4. Can salvation be sincerely offered by God to anyone apart from the blood of Christ?
5. If God hates the non-elect, how can He sincerely offer salvation to them?
6. Was Christ sincere in telling people to repent? (Luke 13:3). Did all people who heard Christ's preaching on repentance repented?
7. Can God sincerely offer salvation to all men if Jesus is not the Savior of all men?
8. Is there a command for the fallen angels to repent and trust Jesus as Savior?  Will God command all men to repent and trust in Jesus if salvation is not offered to all men on the basis of Christ's death? (Acts17: 30; Jn.6: 47; Isa.45: 22).
9. Can a person reject God's offer salvation? Can salvation be offered apart from God's grace and Christ's sacrifice?
10. Does God sincerely want all men to know the truth and obey the Gospel?

ANSWERS TO BROTHER GUINIT'S QUESTIONS.

1. Did God command Pharaoh to let God's people go out from Egypt?  Answer: Yes, through His servant, Moses.
2. Since Pharaoh disobeyed God and as God truly hardened the heart of Pharaoh, was God involved in Pharaoh's sin of disobedience?  Answer: No! The Biblical statement that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh must not be interpreted literally. It means that the Holy Spirit ceased to influence the sinner due to his continuous resistance or rejection of God. For instance in the case of Pharaoh, God left him to act according to his depraved nature and influence of the Devil. God never influences people to sin (Jam. 1:13).
3. Was God surprised when He permitted sin? Answer: No!
4. Was the permitting of sin in time by God already in the plan of God in eternity?  Answer: Yes! God decreed to permit sin, but He did not decree sin. There’s a difference between the two. Example: A man may allow a mosquito to bite him for a moment, but it does not mean that he ordered and approved the action of the mosquito.
5. Did God in eternity already decide to permit the fall?    Answer: Yes! God permitted man to fall because man chooses to fall into sin. It was not God's decision for man to commit sin, rather, it was man's. God's decision was to permit him.
6. Did God already know in eternity what would transpire in time?   Answer: Yes! God is omniscient.
7. Particularly, the fall of man, did God already know it in eternity? Answer: Yes!
8. Did God decide in eternity to permit the fall? Answer: Yes! If God had not given man the freewill to choose, man couldn't have made the choice to fall to sin. God permitted man to have a free choice, and because man chooses to disobey, God permitted the fall.
9. Is there anything that God cannot do? Answer: Nothing, except that he cannot nor lie. (Jam. 1:13; Heb. 6:17-18).
10. Can God do that which is contrary to his nature? Answer: No! The Bible says,".... it was impossible for God to lie...."(Heb. 6:18).
11. Is God really the effective cause of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart? Answer No! (Jam. 1:13).
12. Is the Christ Who died on the cross an atonement (reconciliation), a personal substitute, a ransom/ payment made, or a provision to be appropriated?  Answer: The substitutionary death of Christ was made in behalf of all men. Christ is a ransom for all, and God's provision for the salvation of all men, but salvation takes place and is received by a person at the moment of faith.
13. Is the salvation of man totally of God in planning, effecting, and maintenance? Answer: Yes! God planned to save who will humble themselves under the influence of the Spirit and the word and believe. (Jam.2: 5; 4:6; I Cor.1: 27). God decided to effectively save a person who believes (1 Thes. 2:13). God decreed that the believers will be eternally saved and secured (Jn.10: 28-29).
14. Will man respond to God positively when left alone in his nature? Answer No man will responds to God positively apart from the influence of the Holy Spirit because the nature of man is sinful. All men are being influenced by the Holy Spirit in varying degrees to know God, repent, and believe, but some were given up due to their continuos resistance and rejection (Rom.1: 23 -28). The Bible says "And When He (the Spirit) is come, He will reprove the world of sin..." (Jn. 16:8). The varying degrees of the Spirit's influence depend also in the degree of the influence of God's word and response of man. Though the Spirit has some influence on men who have not heard God's word, He will not regenerate a person unless he hears the gospel and believes. The Spirit has greater influence on men who hear the word and submit themselves to obedience. As far as regeneration is concerned, a sinner under the influence of the Holy Spirit and the word of God has the freedom to choose either to accept Christ or reject Him (Jn.12: 47-48; 3:18; Rev. 22:17).
15. Does the Holy Spirit work in the salvation of man in connection with the word of God? Yes
16. Can this kind of work of the Holy Spirit be successfully resisted by man? Answer: The reproofs of the Spirit can be resisted by man (Prov.1: 23-33; Acts 7:51; Heb.3: 7-13; Jer.6:19; 9:13; 13:11; 15:6). The Holy Spirit calls men to salvation but some rejected.
17. If your answer is yes, did the Holy Spirit know in eternity that particular person would successfully resist him? Answer Yes!
18. Did the Holy Spirit plan or decide in eternity to work in that particular person in connection with or in addition to the word of God, inspite of His perfect knowledge that He would be successfully resisted by that particular person? Answer: The Holy Spirit has various works in men such as to rebuke, reprove, convict, regenerate, lead, guide, etc. God in eternity has already decided that those who will believe in Christ will be regenerated (Jn.1: 12; 3:16; 5:24). He already decreed that His children will be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). The Holy Spirit has decided to reprove a particular person of his sin despite the Spirit's knowledge that that person will resist Him because God has decreed that those who reject God's offer of salvation will go to hell. Secondly, The Spirit who is Holy and merciful and is acting according to His nature to influence sinners to repent. Though He already knew and is grieved that some people will reject Him, yet He still convicts or rebukes them so that they will decide either to accept or reject and such decision will be the basis for their eternal destiny (Ezek. 33:11; 2 Thes. 1:7-9).
19. Is there any possibility of failure and fulfillment of any of God's plan, purpose, or decision which He made in eternity? Answer: No! God wants and calls all men to believe and be saved, but He decided to save only those who believe. Therefore, not all men whom God called to believe will be saved. God did not fail to make the call because He did make a move of calling sinners to repent and believe. If God planned and decided in eternity to make a call, and He did not call sinners to repent, then He failed. God did not fail in His plan and decision to save those who believe in Christ because He was able to save all who believe in Him. Christ came with a purpose of giving opportunity for all men to believe and be saved. Christ was able to give opportunity for men to believe during his earthly ministry when they heard his preaching. God is still giving all men the opportunity to believe when they hear the Gospel because Christ died for the sins of all men. Did man obtain the opportunity to believe when he hears the Gospel? Yes, because God planned and decided it, yet some people who obtained the opportunity to believe did not believe because God decreed that man must make a choice. God's plan (system) of salvation for all men is through belief of the Gospel and faith in Christ. Though he planned to call all men to repent, believe, and be saved, not all men will be saved, because not all men repent and believe. He did not plan to save men unconditionally. You may ask, "Did Christ preach with a purpose that a person will be saved?" The answer is, “Christ preached with the purpose that a person might be saved" (Jn.3: 17; 5:34; 20:31; 1:7; 11:15; 19:35). If a person hears believes, he will surely be saved (Jn.3: 16; 5:24, 6:47). God won’t contradict his own decrees in his plan of saving mankind.
20. Is God's wisdom perfect? Answer: Yes, Of course!
21. Is God and all his attributes immutable? Answer Yes!
 

SYLLOGISMS 2

God planned to call all men to believe in order to be saved.
However, not all men whom God called believed,
Therefore, not all men will be saved.

God wants all men to be saved.
 However, God decided to save only those believe,
Therefore, not all whom God wants to save will be saved

God's plan of salvation is through belief of the Gospel.
However, not all men believe the Gospel, therefore,
(In accordance with God's plan) not all men will be saved.

Calvinism teaches that God planned to call only the elect to believe and be saved.
Some people are not elect, therefore,
Calvinism teaches that God did not plan to call some people to believe and be saved.

AN EXPLANATION OF ROMANS 8:28

     I always welcome criticisms against my writings and beliefs because it is an opportunity for me to prove to people the Scripturality of my beliefs and show them their errors. Brother Guinit made some criticisms on my quotation of Romans 8:28, however, such criticisms were irrelevant to our discussion concerning the issue of God’s election. Perhaps he could no longer find any fault on our sound doctrine; so, he has to resort to irrelevant issues which cannot at all contribute any good point in favor of Calvinism. He disapproved of my quoting a portion of the passage (Rom.8: 28) in the scripture and accused me of disregarding some parts of the Bible just because I quoted only a portion in the passage. Brother Guinit thinks that it is wrong to quote a portion of passage in the Bible, and any Christian writer who does that will be guilty of (disobeying) Revelation 22:19. He said there, was a change in meaning just because I didn't include some few words, which are not necessary in our discussion, when I quoted from my memory Romans 8:28. I wonder what change of meaning does he mean since he did not specify it. Was there anything in favor of Calvinism in those few words which I failed to include? Or maybe, Brother Guinit believes that it is wrong to quote a portion of a passage in any Christian writings and he feels that in his writings, he has to include all the words in the Bible in order to avoid violating Rev. 22:19. If indeed there was change of meaning in my quotation of Romans 8:28, why didn't he disagree and oppose my explanation of that verse completely. I will prove to him that this complete verse does not favor Calvinism but our true Biblical faith.

     "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
 
                                                                              Romans 8:28
 

Brother Guinit also accuses me of changing the word "that" to "who" in the phrase, "... to them that love God..." In this case, he said that there was a change in meaning. I wonder what change of meaning...in that instance. The reason why Brother Guinit was able to judge improperly because he, perhaps, failed to check his Greek Bible and English Book. He does not know that the words "that" and "who" in the phrase "... to them that love God, to them who are the called." are not found in the original text. In the Greek Bible, both words, "that" and "who" were translated in Romans 8:28 (King James Version) from the same Greek word (To is) which means "to the (ones)". The King James Translators used "that" and "who". However, in the English rules of usage, the word "who" is more preferable than "that" because "who is more specific to persons, while "that" can be used both to persons, animals, and things. As Christians, we need to be careful in making judgements because the Bible says, "...judge righteous judgement", John 7:24.

1. What do you mean by the statement, "God hardened the heart of Pharaoh"? Do you mean that: a) God influences Pharaoh to sin and disobedience, or b) God with drew the grace he extended to Pharaoh.
2. If you believe that God withdrew his grace, can He withdraw His grace if he had not extended it to Pharaoh?
3. What is the reason why God withdrew his grace to Pharaoh? Did he withdraw his grace because: a) God wants Pharaoh to act in a sinful way or b) Pharaoh wants to act in a sinful way, so, God permitted him?
4. If your answer to the above question is letter b), do you agree that God permitted men to make a free choice, either to accept God's grace or reject it?
5. Did God extend His grace to Pharaoh (before God withdrew his grace) so that Pharaoh will: a) Believe God or b) Reject God?
6. Whose will is it when a man rejects Christ?  a) God or b) Man.
7. Did God plan in eternity and decreed that some people will reject Christ?
8. Did Christ desire that some people, particularly those, who rejected him, would repent and believe? (Matt.11: 20-24).
9. Did Christ sincerely offer salvation to people who rejected his preaching (during His earthly ministry) and rejected him?
10. Can God sincerely offer salvation to anyone apart from the blood of Christ?
11. If God hates the non-elect, how can he sincerely offer salvation to them?
12. Was Christ sincere in telling people to repent? (Luke 13:3). Did all the people who heard Christ's preaching on repentance repented?
13. Can God sincerely offer salvation to all men if Jesus is not the Savior of all men?
14. Is there a command for the fallen angels to repent and trust Jesus as Savior? Will God command all men to repent and trust in Jesus if salvation is not offered to all men on the basis of Christ's death? (Acts 17:30; Jn: 6:47;Isa.45: 22).
15. Can a person reject God's offer of salvation? Can salvation be offered to anyone apart from Christ's sacrifice?
16. Does God sincerely want all men in the world to know the truth and obey the Gospel?
17. Is the message of the Gospel true to every man? Is the command of the Gospel to repent and believe intended for every person?
18. Is it God's pleasure that some people will die in their sins and go to hell?
19.  Does God want all men to repent, believe, and be saved?
20. If your answer is no, does He want some men to be unrepentant and to continue in their evil works?
21. Whose child is a person before he believes: God's or the Devil's?