“Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” (Romans 9:18-21)[/caption]

Dear WBC, 

I have a few questions that require your insight and clarification. I hope you will answer the following for me:  1) Why does WBC preach ‘repent or perish’ when the non-elect cannot repent (are in fact damned) and the elect cannot perish? Please clarify this for me.  2) Please can you explain how God can hold the non-elect/reprobates responsible for not believing in Him (God) and than damn them for it? Did God deliberately not give them the faith to believe to start off with? Please can you clarify this for me as well.   Thank you for your time, It is much appreciated. I look forward to your response. Kind regards,  Chad   Good morning, neighbor –
  1. We preach what Christ and the apostles preached. We preach what John the Baptist preached. We do not know the heart. God alone knows. We are instructed to do it!

“John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”  Mark 1:4

“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47

“And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” Mark 6:7-12

  1. Please read Romans 9 in full.

“That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrha.” Romans 9:8-29

But you know this already. Thus your question. So please read Isaiah 6 and 10 and focus on the Sovereignty of God and His perfect work and righteousness! Abraham, in anticipation of the total annihilation of Sodom and the cities of the plains said:

“…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25

This work of serving God is a daily minute by minute activity: submission, prayer, reading God’s word, seeking wisdom, understanding and faith, etc. Questions across the pond will never do. Thank you for writing. –Your friends at Westboro Baptist Church]]>