For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Romans 11:32
Reprobates are defined in Romans 1, where they are defined as unsaved people who reject God and therefore God rejects them and does not call them His children. The word reprobate means rejected. The false Calvinistic fatalistic ‘reprobate doctrine’ makes God the author of evil and suggests that God rejects certain of the unsaved forever, so that they can never be saved. This belief comes from eastern religions and gnosticism, as well as Islam, where God is cruel and ultimately unknowable and from man’s perspective arbitrarily picks some of His creations to become enlightened and others He damns to hell.
The reprobate doctrine redefines the word reprobate and is used as evidence for the ‘total depravity’ and ‘unconditional election’ doctrines. Some believe that God is the author of evil and by ‘reprobating’ people, they redefine ‘gives them over’ to mean He indirectly causes them to do extremely evil acts, such as the homosexuality mentioned in Romans 1:26-29.However there are many passages of Scripture that disprove this notion and false definition of the word reprobate that have crept in from gnosticism over the centuries.
Immediately after Romans 1, which is often used as a ‘proof text’, we see in Romans 2:1 that the Holy Ghost directly confronts those who believe in the reprobate doctrine with their hypocrisy with this:
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
Romans 2:1
Confirming that all of the previously mentioned acts could have been done by those that are now ‘elect’ in the proper Biblical sense of the word, i.e. those who have now been saved by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and are elect or predestinated to serve the Lord and be glorified by Him one day. This is further corroborated by 1 Corinthians 6:11, in context:
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
We see that ‘abusers of themselves with mankind’ would include those who engage in homosexuality in Romans 1:26-29. This confirms that there were former reprobates in the church at Corinth, disproving any Calvinist ‘reprobate doctrine’ notions that reprobates are forever rejected by God.
We see that Jeremiah preached to the Israelites in Jeremiah 7, whom he had just called reprobate in Jeremiah 6:30. The question is Why would God repeatedly declare his mercy and forgiveness and call sinners to repentance all over the Bible if he was decreeing who would be unsaved anyway? We see in Isaiah 48:8-12:
Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last
That the Lord said he knew the Israelites would be called ‘transgressors from the womb’, and that they would reject Him and behave treacherously, but he would not cut them off and chose to refine them so that they would come to repentance and glorify Him. The reprobate doctrine does the opposite of glorifying God, it makes Him the author of evil, capricious and unmerciful, and it is hypocritical to any Bible believer who affirms that our salvation and faith follow our belief and recognition of our sins and our need for our merciful, loving Saviour, Jesus Christ.
We also find in the Books of Acts that Paul and Barnabas do not say that God ‘reprobated’ the Jews but that they rejected themselves as candidates for everlasting life:
Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Acts 13:46
Conversely, despite their sins, the gentiles had not been ‘reprobated’ or rejected by God either but had ordained themselves as worthy of eternal life and believed:
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Acts 13:48
Finally, Jesus said that if he had been revealed to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have remained, therefore, they could not have been caused to sin by the Lord in any way, and salvation by grace through faith was open to them despite the sins worthy of death that they chose to commit
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:23-30