Averagefellar, you said, “The football illustration is invalid. The Bible says mankind doesn't begin from a neutral position but a sinful one.”
Actually, when I first began watching pro football games I was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. When I played football on my high school team I wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy. Later, however, at some point after they won their last Super Bowl, I lost interest and became neutral. I do believe that a non-Christian is born as a depraved individual. Thus, he starts from a sinful position, not a neutral one. When he is irresistibly placed under the special conviction of the Holy Spirit, he can then form a bias from equipoise, and he can surrender his life to Jesus in repentance and faith.
You said, “One other problem is that I have repeatedly asked for the discussion of scripture and you seem bent on offering everything but.”
Okay, let’s discuss 1 Kings 18:21: “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people did not answer him a word.”
The meaning of the verse seems very simple to me. The people were hesitating between two opinions. Spurgeon said they were undecided. They had not committed themselves one way or the other. They had not made an ultimate, final decision about whom to serve. Dr. House from The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville said that Elijah was challenging these non-committal people to make a decision. Spurgeon remarked that most people in churches are in this non-committal category. He said that some people are clearly committed to Christ, and some people are clearly committed to evil, but the third category is very large. In 1 Kings 18:38 the people experienced the power of God when the fire fell. In verse 39 they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, He is God.” Their experience with the power of God caused them to make a choice. They were no longer undecided.
You said, “However, I did note that neither of your quotes mentioned equipoise either. neither quote claimed man chooses from anything else than from his nature.”
Neither quote mentioned equipoise, but the quotes described the people as non-committal and undecided. Regarding your comment about choosing from their nature, consider this: If they were choosing from their sinful nature, then why would they commit themselves to serve God and even be willing to seize the prophets of Baal for execution, knowing that those prophets were favored by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel? They fell on their faces to confess that the LORD was God in front of Ahab. They seized the prophets in front of Ahab. They took Elijah’s side in front of Ahab. Remember that Ahab wanted to kill Elijah. The people who experienced God’s power and confessed Him were obviously changed people. Ahab was not part of that group. He saw God’s power but did not commit himself to God. Ahab was already committed to evil. He had not been part of the group that was hesitating between two opinions. Ahab’s opinion was already formed.
The apostle Paul said that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). These days, when God puts a person under the special conviction of the Holy Spirit, it is certainly a powerful thing. The person tastes the good word of God and the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5). By faith, like Moses (Hebrews 11:24-27), such a person can choose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than enjoying the passing pleasures of sin.
