“Then Satan answered the LORD, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.’ Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.’ So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.”
Irresistible Grace means that the elect are regenerated against their totally depraved will, so as to be made willing. So, if Job was one of Calvinism’s elect, endowed with an Irresistible Grace, then why would the devil construct an argument around something that Job would have no free-will to resist? In other words, Satan never would have agreed to go along with God’s decision to test Job if Satan knew that God would rig the outcome against him. That said, Satan also thought he could get Jesus to sin too, in having tempted Him at Matthew 4:1-11, and therefore some caution ought to be shown whenever constructing a point involving Satan’s actions. Nonetheless, if Calvinism was true, and if the devil knew and understood it, then the better question would have been: “Have You not [given him an Irresistible Grace]? But [take away his Irresistible Grace and give him free-will] and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Instead, Satan seems to think that the “hedge about him and his house and all that he has” is what keeps Job faithful to God, while yet according to Calvinism, Irresistible Grace and Persevering Grace are what keeps Job faithful to God.
[This post has been excerpted with permission from Richard Coords, Calvinism Answered Verse by Verse and Subject by Subject, © 2024.]
