Jordan Hatfield

How misused: Repeatedly misinterprets God's 'drawing' as a response to prior human 'listening,' 'humility,' 'fear of the Lord,' or willingness to seek God, rather than a sovereign, effectual act that enables these responses. He also conflates 'learning from the Father' with intellectual study of texts like Moses, diminishing the divine initiative. He asserts that people come to Christ based on a prior moral inclination or human-initiated attentiveness to revelation.

Scripture's answer: John 6:44 states, 'No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.' The Greek word for 'draws' (ἑλκύσῃ - helkysē) implies a compelling force, not a gentle suasion based on pre-existing human merit or inclination. The context of John 6, especially verses 63-65, emphasizes that 'the Spirit gives life,' and 'no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.' This indicates a monergistic work of God where spiritual life/drawing precedes human faith, enabling it. 'Learning from the Father' (John 6:45) is a consequence of this divine drawing, not its precondition, and refers to an internal, spiritual illumination rather than mere intellectual assent to prior revelation.

How misused: Misinterprets 'chosen in him before the foundation of the world' to mean that election is a blessing received *only* after a conscious union with Christ through faith, often implying that Calvinists separate election from Christ. He misunderstands being 'in Christ' as exclusively describing a post-conversion, experiential state achieved by human decision, rather than also encompassing God's eternal decree in Christ prior to time, which then unfolds in the believer's temporal experience of salvation.

Scripture's answer: Ephesians 1:4 states God 'chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.' The phrase 'in him' (ἐν αὐτῷ - en autō) refers to Christ as the sphere or ground of God's eternal decree of election. This means election is not an arbitrary choice apart from Christ, but a choice *made in Christ* from eternity past. It is God's sovereign, pre-temporal act that determines who will be brought into union with Christ through faith in time, not a blessing subsequently granted upon human initiative. All spiritual blessings, including election, originate in Christ in God's eternal plan.

How misused: Argues that Romans 9 is *not* about individual election but only about God's choice of nations for covenant blessings. He mischaracterizes Calvinistic interpretations of Romans 9 as teaching arbitrary 'stamping' of babies for hell, or that God doesn't genuinely desire the salvation of all, neglecting Paul's direct address of objections concerning God's justice that only make sense in the context of individual salvation.

Scripture's answer: Romans 9, particularly verses 10-24, unequivocally discusses God's sovereign choice for salvation, specifically using Jacob and Esau as examples of individual election and reprobation. Paul anticipates objections to this doctrine ('Is there injustice on God's part?' v.14) that would not arise if he were only discussing national election. The concept of God 'hardening' some and 'having mercy' on others (v.18) clearly points to individual destinies in salvation, not merely national roles. The 'stamping of babies for hell' is a caricature of the doctrine of reprobation, which, in Reformed theology, affirms God's just condemnation of sinners who are already guilty by virtue of original sin and their own actual transgressions, not an arbitrary act upon the innocent.

How misused: Introduces an artificial distinction between 'delusion' and 'deception' to mitigate God's direct agency in sending 'strong delusion.' This attempts to absolve God of active involvement in judgment, attributing it solely to human free will or passive withdrawal, thus undermining the plain meaning of the text that God *sends* (πέμπει - pempei) a strong delusion.

Scripture's answer: 2 Thessalonians 2:11 explicitly states, 'Therefore God sends (πέμπει) them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.' The Greek verb 'pempei' means 'to send, dispatch, cause to go.' This indicates God's active, direct agency in sending the delusion, not merely a passive allowance. While human rejection of truth precedes this, God's sending of the delusion is a judicial act, a divine judgment upon those who 'did not receive the love of the truth' (v.10), illustrating God's sovereign control even in judgment, rather than a limitation by a supposedly independent human free will.

How misused: Claims the language of 'forever and ever' and 'rest day or night' is purely symbolic, signifying only finality rather than ongoing conscious suffering. This promotes an annihilationist/conditional immortality view by reducing the explicit descriptors of torment to metaphorical non-existence.

Scripture's answer: Revelation 14:11 states, 'And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.' The phrase 'forever and ever' (εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων - eis aiōnas aiōnōn) is the strongest possible biblical expression for eternal duration, applied elsewhere to God's reign (Rev 1:6) and eternal life (Rev 22:5). The accompanying phrase 'they have no rest, day or night' explicitly describes an ongoing, conscious state of torment, indicating active suffering rather than cessation of existence. To interpret this solely as 'finality' contradicts the natural reading of these strong durative and active descriptions.

How misused: Uses to argue that believers are *not* 'in Christ' until a specific moment of conversion, thereby denying the eternal election and foreordination of believers in Christ. He misrepresents being 'in Christ' as a purely temporal status.

Scripture's answer: Romans 16:7 mentions Andronicus and Junia who were 'in Christ before me.' This verse refers to their earlier conversion or identification with Christ *in actual time*, not to invalidate the concept of eternal election 'in Christ' as found in Ephesians 1:4. The New Testament uses 'in Christ' to describe both a believer's present spiritual status after conversion and God's eternal decree of election in Him. The speaker creates a false dichotomy by limiting 'in Christ' solely to a post-conversion human experience, ignoring God's pre-temporal, sovereign work.

How misused: Interprets as evidence of humanity's innate capacity to choose God without divine intervention, thereby denying total depravity. He misreads Romans 2 as showcasing a natural inclination towards God that can lead to salvation, rather than a revelation that leaves all humanity without excuse for their rebellion.

Scripture's answer: Romans 2 indeed speaks of Gentiles having the 'law written on their hearts' and 'their conscience bearing witness,' but this passage functions to establish humanity's guilt and leave them 'without excuse' before God, convicting them of sin, not enabling them to choose God salvifically apart from grace (Romans 3:9-20). The natural person, even with this innate knowledge, suppresses the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-32) and remains 'dead in trespasses and sins' (Ephesians 2:1), unable to please God or come to Him on their own (Romans 8:7-8, John 6:44).

How misused: Erroneously claims the story of Lazarus is *not* a parallel for initial salvation and regeneration, limiting its scope to only the eschatological physical resurrection. This ignores the robust theological connection Jesus makes between His power over physical death and His power to grant spiritual life (John 5:21, 24-25) and the Pauline teaching of being 'made alive' when dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5).

Scripture's answer: While Lazarus's resurrection certainly foreshadows the final physical resurrection, it also serves as a profound analogy for spiritual regeneration. Jesus explicitly states, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live' (John 11:25). The inability of Lazarus to raise himself parallels the spiritual inability of the 'dead in trespasses and sins' (Ephesians 2:1) to engender their own spiritual life or faith. God's sovereign, life-giving command, 'Lazarus, come out!' (John 11:43), is a powerful illustration of monergistic regeneration preceding and enabling spiritual responsiveness, which is then made manifest in faith.