THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN
ELECTION
(Unedited)
By Nick Bibile
"Jacob I loved, but Esau
I hated. What shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, I
will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion."
(Romans 9:13-14)
Charles Spurgeon said on the election, "I do not hesitate to say, that next to the doctrine of the crucifixion and the resurrection of our blessed Lord, no doctrine had such prominence in the early Christian church as the doctrine of the election of Grace." If Spurgeon is alive today What will he say to the church, as the Pastors feel very uncomfortable on this subject and they will avoid it as the plague. Although there are many evangelical Pastors and teachers who believe in election but most of them will not preach on election. Some try to teach but they fail to teach it correctly as they try to tackle the subject on election from the human point of view.
Adam & Eve were created holy and perfect before God and they had a free will to obey or disobey God. When they disobeyed sin entered in and the holiness, the perfectness and the goodness that Adam & Eve had died, and this affected the entire humanity.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death
through sin,
and in this way death came to all men, because all
sinned-- (Romans 5:12)
The Bible does not give a good picture of our fallen nature, man is
totally corrupted, there is no one who seeks God, no one righteous, no
one who does good and we have all gone astray like sheep. (See Romans 3:10-12)
We all deserve the wrath of God as the curse of God fell upon us. Sin did not
bring a blessing but a curse. We are born sinners and as a result we are
rebellious towards God. The entire human race is guilty before God and we
all deserve to be punished in God' wrath. But God made a covenant in Genesis
3:15, when he said, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and
you will strike his heel."
We see in this scripture because of God's grace he sent his Son born of a woman
and although Satan was able to strike the Savior by the crucifixion, Christ
became victorious over Satan on the cross as his head or the power was broken
as Christ forgave our sins, made us righteous and conquered death. This is the
gospel of grace. All the glory goes to God and not to man. But in our
democratic culture man's vote counts and we have a choice to exercise our right
to choose. When we become Christians we carry this idea into theology. Then if
we have the rights to chose where does the grace fit in. Grace means we
don't deserve it, we deserve his wrath, it is not our vote that we can boast
but it is God who chose. Election belongs to the Lord. God does not
operate in a democratic system but in a theocratic system. Before we get
into election we need to understand the sovereignty of God as we need to see it
in the perspective of God.
God is Sovereign
Sovereignty of God was generally understood by the Christians as it was exposed and explained in the pulpit. It was a very common phrase. All Christian theology is built on the foundation of the Sovereignty of God. As the church grows from generation to generation the theology became weaker and weaker. Bad theology will produce bad doctrines. Today we don't hear on the sovereignty of God from the pulpit and as a result heretical doctrines that sounds good has crept into the church from every direction.
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that hey may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments." (Colossians 2:2-4)
What do you mean by the sovereignty of God? It means that God is God. (Psalm 46:10) It means the supremacy, the kingship of God, he is the almighty God. The Psalmist said in Psalm 115:3, "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." This means that God is not limited to our freedom, he is absolutely unlimited. If you create something then what you created belongs to you. Are you obligated to what you have created? Absolutely not as you have all the freedom to do what ever to your creation, because you are the author of that creation. Now if we have a limited freedom as to do what ever to our creation, as we are limited beings what about God, who is unlimited?
God is the creator of the universe and he said, "Who has a claim
against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me." (Job
41:11) Yes, my friend God is not obligated to anyone, he is God. He is
the Potter and we are the clay and how can the clay talk back to the Potter and
say, " What have you done?" The early Christian church
understood the sovereignty of God, then the reformers and the puritans brought
back the roots of the early christian beliefs on the sovereignty of God.
But Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism crept into the church through the
heretical teachings of Charles Finney and the others. It is sad to see, that
the modern church have brought God down to the level of man, as a result God is
obligated to man.
Let us see some of the famous evangelists, and the TV preachers have to say
on this subject today.
Morris Cerullo says, "As I lay there on the floor in this condition,
my spirit was taken out of my
body and the next thing I knew, I was in the heavensSuddenly, in front of this
tremendous
multitude of people, the glory of God appeared. The Form that I saw was about
the height of a man
six feet tall, maybe a little taller, and twice as broad as a human body with
no distinguishing features
such as eyes, nose, or mouth." (Morris Cerullo, The Miracle Book (San
Diego, CA: Cerullo Word
Evangelism, Inc., 1984), x-xi.
Kenneth Copeland said, "I was shocked when I found out who the
biggest failure in the Bible
actually isThe biggest one in the whole Bible is GodNow, the reason you dont
think of God as
a failure is He never said Hes a failure. And youre not a failure till you say
youre one." (Kenneth
Copeland, Praise-a-Thon program on TBN (April 1988). He also said, "Adam
committed high
treason; and at that point, all the dominion and authority God had given to him
was handed over to
Satan. Suddenly, God was on the outside looking inAfter Adams fall, God found
Himself in a
peculiar positionGod needed an avenue back into the earthGod laid out His
proposition and
Abram accepted it. It gave God access to the earth and gave man access to
God..Technically, if
God ever broke the Covenant, He would have to destroy Himself." (Kenneth
Copeland, Our
Covenant with God (Fort Worth, TX: KCP Publications, 1987)
Kenneth Copeland claims that God is "A being that is very
uncanny the way Hes very much like
you and me. A being that stands somewhere around 6-2", 6-3", that
weighs somewhere in the
neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds, little better, [and] has a [hand]
span of nine inches
across." (Kenneth Copeland, Spirit, Soul and Body I (Fort Worth, TX:
Kenneth Copeland
Ministries, 1985), audiotape #01-0601, side 1.
My friend how deep we have fallen from the sound doctrine of the Bible. The church is gradually and systematically dethroning God. One of the battle cries of the reformers was 'Sola Scriptura' It means 'by Scripture alone' God is sovereign and his word is absolute and infinite. Today God's sovereignty is limited by human freedom. In this case God is not absolute, and he has limitations. Man has become sovereign and God should yield to man. But listen my friend do not allow these men to poison you, God is not depended on anyone but we are all depended on him. If God is not sovereign then he is not God. We need to expose the false doctrines and go back to the sixteenth century reformers who brought back the church to it's apostolic roots.
Read the following from the book of Daniel. (4:30-37)
30 he said, "Is
not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my
mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"
31The words were still
on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is
decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken
from you.
32You will be driven
away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will
eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge
that
the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone
he wishes."
33 Immediately what had
been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was
driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with
the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his
nails
like the claws of a bird.
34 At the end of that
time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and
my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified
him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures
from generation to generation.
35All the peoples of
the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with
the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his
hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
36At the same time that
my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were
returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me
out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.
37Now I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven,
because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who
walk in pride he is able to humble.
Psalmist said in Psalm 115:3, "Our God is in heaven and; he does what ever he pleases."
Election
If you are a Christian you have to believe in election because it is in the Bible.
You may not understand what the Bible is saying on election or just because you
don't understand you may not agree, but my friend if you believe the Bible is
the infallible word of God, the subject of election is in the Bible.
Election is in the Bible
Matthew 24:22 "And except those days should be shortened, there
should no flesh be saved; but for the ELECT'S sake those days shall be
shortened."
Matthew 24:24 ". . . insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very ELECT."
Matthew 24:31 ". . . and they shall gather together HIS ELECT from
the four winds . . . "
Mark 13.20, 22, 27
Romans 8.28-33 N.B. V 33 "Who shall lay anything to the charge of
GOD'S ELECT? It is God that justifieth."
Romans 9:11 "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. "
Romans 11:5, 7 "Even so then at this present time also there is a
remnant according TO THE ELECTION OF GRACE. What then?
Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but THE
ELECTION hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. "
Romans 11:28 ". . . but as touching the ELECTION, they are beloved
for the fathers' sakes. "
Col. 3.12 "Put on therefore, as the ELECT of God. . ."
I Thes. 1:4 "Knowing, brethren beloved, YOUR ELECTION OF
GOD."
II Thes. 2:13 ". . . because God hath from the beginning CHOSEN you
to salvation . . . "
II
that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory."
Titus 1 ". . . according to the faith of God's ELECT. . . "
II Peter 1:10 ". . . give diligence to make your calling and
ELECTION
sure . . ."
Now there are two different views on the election within the
church, one is the conditional election and the other is the unconditional
election. The modern church and the majority of the Christians believes
in the conditional election. All the reformers, puritans and the early
Christians rejected conditional election. The conditional election came from
the followers of Jacob Arminius.
Conditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation
of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call.
He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe
the gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what
man would do. The faith which God foresaw and upon which He based
His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it was not created by the
regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from
man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe and
therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom
He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice
of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the
ultimate cause of salvation. According to this position the salvation is of
the sinner and not of the Lord.
Unconditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignty elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
Apostle Paul knew that the objection was natural, if we say that God loves the elect and hates the un-elect, as he said Jacob he loved and Esau he hated. The natural man will say, "now that is unfair, unjust, I know God is just." So soon they come to the conclusion and say it is because why God hated Esau was that God saw how bad Esau and how good Jacob was, and God elected according to their faith in him and in actions. My friend if we are saved on the basis of our action, and the first move towards salvation is not God but us, then where does the grace come in? Where does grace fit in salvation. Does not the Bible say,
8. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not
from
yourselves, it is the gift of God--
9. not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Someone may jump to the conclusion, and say we are saved bu our faith.
Keep on reading, it says this is not of yourself. It is the gift of God.
The natural man have no faith for God. Faith is the result of the Holy Spirit's
work on regeneration. Remember we were dead in sins and God made us alive.
Kim Riddlebarger (M.A. P.hD) gives the following interesting comment
on why many American evangelicals have a problem with this Biblical teachings.
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"There is no teaching in Christian theology that offends our
contemporaries (especially our
Christian friends and family), any more then the teaching of sola gratia.
Americans hate to be
told "no," that they are helpless. Surprisingly, the greatest
opposition to the biblical teaching on
this point comes not from a secular culture, but from household-name leaders in
the American
Church. From contemporary figures such as Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel to Bill
Bright and
Campus Crusade, to virtually all forms of revivalism and Pentecostalism which
spring from the
loins of one Charles Grandison Finney (to whom we will return in a minute), to
Alexander
Campbell and the Restorationist movement, to Joseph Smith and what later on
became the cult
known as Mormonism, to William Miller and the Adventist movement, and we can go
on and
on; all of these movements are based, at least in part, upon a denial of sola
gratia, in direct
opposition to Reformation theology, and the biblical teaching on this point.
Americans hate to be
told that God does not depend upon them and a decision that they make. And it
is here, then,
that we as Reformation Christians and historic Protestants run smack dab into
our culture and to
much of American Christianity. This is why our friends and families look at us
like we have three
heads when we speak of these doctrines. But this is the historic Protestant
position, and the
wholesale rejection of sola gratia demonstrates how far the "evangelical
movement" has
departed from the historic and biblical Evangelical faith.
This rejection of sola gratia is not new, in fact, it is an ancient heresy
known as Pelagianism.
Named for the monk Pelagius (who lived in the fourth century) and who was the
arch-foe of St.
Augustine, Pelagianism is that teaching which emphasizes the human freedom,
sees original sin
not as corruption and guilt inherited from our first father but simply the bad
example introduced
by into the world by Adam. Pelagianism sees grace as simply an influence
enticing us to act
upon proper information. And it is only natural that rugged, self-made,
independent, frontier
Americans would naturally gravitate to a theology that emphasized human ability
and natural
freedom to act. It is from Pelagius and not Holy Scripture that we derive the
idea that children
are born innocent, not sinful, and it is from Pelagius that we learn that sin
is simply that which we
do, not what we are. In the words of one historian, "America is very much
in favor of this
Pelagian idea that every individual can always make a new beginning, that he is
able by his
individual freedom to make decisions for or against the divine."
As American Christians moved to the frontier away from the established
communities along the
eastern seaboard, they also moved away from their Puritan and Calvinistic
assessment of human
nature. If we could conquer the west, build cities where there had been only
wilderness, and if
this was the fruit of our manifest destiny and our democratic ideal, then the
"terrible honesty" of
Calvinistic convictions, to use Ann Douglas' phrase, made little sense. In this
context, Americans
are rugged, capable and basically good people. And so, Pelagius became our
patron saint and
Charles Finney his main spokesman.
It is no accident that most of the Pelagianizing movements just mentioned,
sprang up on the
American frontier in a region in upper state New York, known to historians as
the "burned over
district," a region which produced millennialism and Millerites, Joseph
Smith and Mormonism,
Alexander Campbell and the Restoration movement, the Shakers and a host of
others, all which
grew up in the Wake of Charles Finney and his new measures. From a Reformed
perspective,
the "burned over district" is a kind of a theological Bermuda
Triangle.
By the time of the Second Great Awakening in the latter years of the 17th
century, the
Reformation preaching of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield which
characterized the
first great awakening of the 1730's-40's, had given way to a man-centered,
experience oriented
theology. And it was Charles Finney, perhaps more than anyone else, who ensured
that the
Second Great Awakening undid the Reformation emphases of the first. Finney was
born in
1792, and was a child of both the American democratic ideal as well as the
frontier spirit. After
studying law, Finney experienced a dramatic conversion in 1821, and then sought
to enter the
Presbyterian ministry. It was soon all too evident that Finney was not
interested in the
Westminster Standards, the basic statement of Presbyterian doctrine, and that
his preaching was
more or less combination of the New Haven theology - a radical modification of
the theology of
Jonathan Edwards, and common-sense case law typical of William Blackstone. It
was Finney
who invented the anxious bench (the fore-runner of the alter call), and
established the protracted
revival meeting. Interestingly enough, both Jesse Jackson and Jerry Falwell
stand in Finney's
shadow, as both the liberal-left and the Christian-right trace their own
activistic roots directly to
Finney's stress upon political activism and social reform. It is from Finney
that we trace
prohibitionism and the temperance movement as well as abolitionism. The danger
in this stress
upon Christian activism is, of course, that Christianity in Finney's scheme,
becomes activism.
Reformation Christians would, on the other hand, insist that while Christians should
be
abolitionists and pro-life, abolitionism and being pro-life per se is not
Christianity. Prohibitionism
is, of course, right out! It is a pernicious error bequeathed to us by the
Methodists!
One thing I admire about Finney is that he is clear. In his Lectures on
Revival (1835) Finney
"out Pelagius' Pelagius" to use Dr. Robert Godfrey's phrase, when he
states "A revival is not a
miracle according to another definition of the term "miracle"
something above the powers of
nature. There is nothing in religion beyond the ordinary powers of nature....A
revival is not a
miracle, nor dependent on a miracle in any sense. [A revival] is a purely
philosophical result of
the right use of the constituted means." Thus if we jiggle the lever in
the right way, and simply use
the right means, we don't need the grace of God, at all. We have all the
natural ability we need.
Thus a revival does not at all depend upon God, it depends upon us, plain and
simple. As the
Princeton theologian B. B. Warfield remarked, this is not theology at all. This
is ethics.
According to Warfield, "we said that God might be eliminated entirely from
Finney's ethical
theory without injury to it: are we not prepared to now say that [God] might be
eliminated from
it with some advantage to it."
In a later work Finney expresses his rejection of sola gratia very clearly.
In his Systematic
Theology (1846) he wrote, "Regeneration consists in the sinner changing
his ultimate choice,
intention, preference; or in changing from selfishness to love and benevolence;
or, in other
words, in turning from the supreme choice of self-gratification, to the supreme
love of God and
the equal love of his neighbor. Of course the subject of regeneration must be
an agent in the
work (p. 224)." As I said, Finney is clear and it is hard to misunderstand
him here. Man is the
agent of his own regeneration. A more blatant rejection of what the Scriptures
teach about the
new-birth and regeneration is hardly imaginable. Finney's Lazarus is capable of
resurrecting
himself, without God's help, thank you.
Why Charles Finney is important to us this morning, is precisely because it
is Finney who serves
to sow the Pelagian seed which germinates all over the American landscape in
subsequent years.
Think of his influence on the contemporary church for just one moment:
Finney is the father of revivalism, characterized by the frontier revival
tent meeting and the
sawdust trail. Finney's revivalist legacy is most clearly seen today in a
stadium filled with Promise
Keepers.
Finney is the father of the alter call and the "evangelistic
meeting" that takes place apart from the
normal preaching and sacramental ministry of the local church. It was the
stress upon the "new
measures," as Finney called them that largely served to displace the
sacramental and preaching
ministry of the church for technique-oriented evangelism.
The entire church growth movement, which seeks to entice so-called
"seekers" to church by
removing those things from the church service which offend them (in other
words, anything
distinctly Christian), can be traced back to Finney's new measures; only the
new measures now
come to us couched in the language of marketing and sales, target groups and
demographics.
Whether it be Chuck Smith, Bill Bright, or Billy Graham, there is no doubt
that one branch of
each of their respective intellectual family trees traces itself back to
Charles Finney, and even if
another branch in that same family tree can be traced back to Protestant
forbears, these traits
are now mist certainly recessive. For Finney's family characteristics are now
dominant in the
American church. And sola gratia is no longer a doctrine to be defended, it is
an offence and an
embarrassment. Who needs God when man is quite capable on his own."
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Let us see Romans 9:10-16
10. Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our
father Isaac.
11. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in
order that God's purpose in election might stand:
12. not by works but by him who calls--she was told, "The older
will serve the younger."
13.Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14.What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
15.For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16.It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's
mercy.
God elects some and rejects others not on their basis of faith or actions. If God elects some on their faith the election would become man's and not God's. But God elected Jacob over Esau before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad. But the majority of the church today have interpreted this to be true in a sense because God fore-saw their future and based on their actions God elected Jacob over Esau. If Paul wanted say that this would be the place for him to say, and he never said that. That is only an opinion of men and not scripture. This kind of view is called the prescient view and it has no room or cannot hold any water as Paul goes on to say in the next verse on the choice of Jacob over Esau, "It is not of him who wills, not of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. " The prescient view is Arminian and semi-Pelagian.
Also see 2
9. who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything
we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us
in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
What is the basis of election?
See Ephesians I :1-6
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in
the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless
in his sight. In love
5. he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ,
in
accordance with his pleasure and will--
6. to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the
One he
loves.
Why did God showed mercy to some and not to the others? It is the good pleasure of his will. God elects according to the good pleasure of his will. It does not mean that his will for choosing some was based upon on no reason. It is that God did not see something in us for him to elect us, but elects for reasons that is known only to himself, for his own pleasure that pleased God and in his pleasure there is no evil.
Election is a glorious doctrine, because if not for the election of God where will you be, if not for the doctrine of election no one would be saved.
Is God unjust to elect only some over the others?.
Election is not the cause of people going to hell, because the election is unto salvation. It is sin what sends sends people to hell. Election does not harm bring harm but salvation. Now election is not salvation but unto salvation, election precede salvation.
13. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: (2Thessa. 2:13)
Charles Spurgeon said,""Ah! but," say some, "I thought
it meant that God elected some to heaven and some to hell." That is a very
different matter from the gospel doctrine. He has elected men to holiness and
to righteousness and through that to heaven. You must not say that
he has elected them simply to heaven, and others only to hell. He has
elected you to holiness, if you love holiness. If any of you love to be
saved by Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ elected you to be saved. If any of you
desire to have salvation, you are elected to have it, if you desire it
sincerely and earnestly. But, if you don't desire it, why on earth should you
be so preposterously foolish as to grumble because God gives that which
you do not like to other people?
..................................................................................................................................................
The conditional view of election protects the human view of election as for them the unconditional view brings a problem as God is not fair to elect some and to leave the others to perish. This is not the righteous God. If this is so God is unrighteous in election. It does not seem fair for God to show his grace to Jacob and hatred to Esau, as to show his grace to some and not to the others. Paul already knew in advance how the mind of man thinks, and he quoted the scripture, to show the sovereignty of God over man's natural thinking, when he said, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy." God did not owe any grace to either Jacob or Esau, if he did not elect neither. God does not owe any grace to any human being as all have violated the laws of God and all deserve hell. If God did not pardon the angels when they sinned, God is not obligated to pardon man. God does not owe man anything. God is under no obligation to save anyone. God is not obligated to give grace to everyone and God is not obligated to give his mercy to everyone. If God have to give his mercy and grace to everyone then where is the sovereignty of God?
But when God elects some over the others the problem arises, to say that God
is not fair, as he gives grace to one as Jacob was elected and not Esau. Paul
knew that people would raise this question and he said:
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who
resists his will?"
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say
to him
who formed it, Why did you make me like this?'"
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some
pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? (Romans 5:19-21)
As God he has a right that of a Potter has over clay. He is the
sovereign creator of the clay. He can make one one vessel to honor and another to
dishonor. Remember God is dealing with sinful creatures by punishing some and
pardoning others, by punishing the sinners God's displeasure against sin is
revealed and by pardoning others his mercy is revealed. If God wanted, he could
have saved the whole human race, but the whole human race is not saved. Those
who are saved receives the benefit of his grace. Those who are elected received
the grace and mercy when they do not deserve. If mercy is deserved it is not
mercy.
Sola Gratia.
One of the battle cries of the Protestant reformation is called "Sola Gratia" meaning we all deserve the wrath of God, but God did not foresee anything good in us for us to be saved but we are saved purely by his grace. If we are saved by our own faith, then there is no room for grace.
God called out of his grace Abraham, when Abraham was living in paganism.
Why did God elect Abraham and not anyone else? Is God unfair? God elected
a tiny nation called Israel, over other
nations, God took care of them like a father to a son and other nations
did not have that blessing, Is God unfair? Moses had killed an Egyptian and and
hid him in the sand, he was a murderer. God gave grace to Moses and
not to Pharaoh, is God unfair? Saul of Tarsus was an enemy of God,
killing the Christians but God instantly gave mercy and grace to him while
Pilate was not elected. Is God unfair? Paul was a violent persecutor of
the church and so were Pilate and Caiaphas who was against Christianity.
Therefore is God obliged to give the same mercy and grace that he gave to Paul?
Jacob and Esau before they were born, before they could do anything good
or bad God elected Jacob, so God's election will stand. In later years
Jacob deceived his brother and father, yet God's election and his word did not
change. Why did God elect you over your friends? . Did you deserve
salvation? Are you better than others? Did you have more faith than others. If
you had more faith than others, it was the murderess the tax collectors,
the prostitutes who were saved in Jesus time had a lot of faith! R. C.
Sproul gives the following explanation.
Why did you respond to the gospel when you heard it, but someone else
who heard it -- even the very same presentation at the same moment -- did not
respond to it? What
was there in you that caused you to respond positively while others are caused
to reject it? I ask that about my own life. I could say the reason I responded
was that I was more righteous than the other fellow. God forbid that I ever say
that on the Judgment Day. I might think I'm more intelligent than somebody
else, but I wouldn't want to say that either. Some might say that I recognized
my need more than somebody else recognized his need, but even that recognition
is a mixture of at least some measure of intelligence and some measure of
humility, most of which would find its ultimate roots in the grace of God. I
have to say with the ancient man, there but for the grace of God go I. I can't
give any reason other than God's grace for why I am saved.
By electing one over the other God's attributes remains the same.
Sovereignty of God is, that God has absolute power and freedom do anything to his creatures. In this subject God have no opposition to force himself to do anything, he is not under anyone's will, and he is not obligated to anyone. By electing one over the other, it will not bring unfairness to the honor of his holiness, it will not bring unfairness to the honor of his majesty, it will not bring unfairness to his justice, it will not bring unfairness to his truth, it will not bring unfairness to his righteousness, it will not bring unfair to his goodness, it will not bring unfairness to his faithfulness or to any other attribute.
The Father draws the elected ones.
Adam & Eve had were created holy and they were perfect before God. They
had a free will to obey or disobey God.
The fallen man is totally depraved and have no power to save himself. Jesus
said, in the gospel of John 6.
44. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,
and I will
raise him up at the last day.
45. It is written in the Prophets: `They will all be taught by God. Everyone
who
listens to the Father and learns from him
comes to me.
There are many say from the pulpit that the word 'draw' means; the Holy
spirit will woo and entice for the people to come and we have the ability to
accept or refuse. The wooing will not guarantee that we will come to Christ.
This is in violation to the scripture as the greek word for 'draw' here is 'elko'
it means 'to compel by irresistible authority.' The word compel is powerful
than wooing. This same word is used in Acts 16:19,
19. When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making
money was
gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged
them into the marketplace to face
the authorities.
Drawing of water from a well is not wooing, but we draw with forceful authority. When we draw water it will come to the one who draws. Now the problem lies when the Arminians say that, man can resist God or accept. Well then according to the Arminian view, the water have more power than the one who is drawing. Does the clay have more power over the potter?
Again Jesus said in the gospel of John 6.
64. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had
known from the
beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
65. He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to
me unless
the Father has enabled him."
66. From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed
him.
67. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the
Twelve.
68. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words
of eternal life.
Note very carefully when Jesus said this, many turned back as it offended them, the Calvinistic doctrine of grace offends the Arminians. As per Jesus, it is the dependency on God's grace than human ability. Jesus ask Peter, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" And Peter answered the Lord, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Peter may have not liked the doctrine but it came from God, he is sovereign. Peter understood the sovereignty of God, believing that God is God, on the other hand the others who left limited the sovereignty of God with human freedom.
Election and Evangelism
There are many who believe that they do not want to preach election because
it is a hindrance for evangelism. It was apostle Paul who exposed and preached
this doctrine more than the others, and also we know that Paul laid the
foundation for the missionary work. Election was not a hindrance for evangelism
but a great motivation for evangelism as Paul said, " Therefore I
endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." (2
Great missionaries and evangelists in the history believed in the doctrine of election. The following are some of them;
John Bunyan, who wrote the Pillgrms Progress,
John Knox, the great Scottish preacher,
William Carey, the father of the modern missions to India.
John Eliot to the North American Indians.
David Brainerd also to the North American Indians.
Jonathan Edwards, the greatest North American Theologian and the preacher, who
preached that famous sermon, "Sinners at the hands of an angry God."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, called the prince of preachers, the greatest preacher
who ever lived next to Jesus and the apostles, He invited Hudson Taylor
to speak in his church, the missionary to China.
George Whitefield, one of the greatest evangelists.
John Patton, missionary to New Hebrides.
George Mueller and a host of others.....
As we see election is not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles, as Jesus said, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." (John 10: 16)
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. (Matt. 28:19-20)
"If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said streams of living water will flow from him within him" (John 6:32)
"But you do not believe me because you are not my sheep." (John 10:26)
.....
And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)
If you believe that you are unworthy before God, and realize of your sins before him and you deserve judgment and not mercy and embrace Christ's righteousness to cover your sinful shame then you are an elect of God. But if you believe, I love my sins and want to enjoy in my pleasures, I am good, and I have no shame before God, I deserve God's rewards for all the good things I have done, I am a very good person before God and men, then you are not elected because Jesus came to seek and to save that those were lost.
Antinomy
The word antinomy comes from the Greek word 'anti' meaning against and 'nomos' meaning a law. Antinomy means opposition of one law to another law, basically it looks like a contradiction. In one hand it says, that God have elected some before the foundation of the world and on the other hand those whom have not elected are responsible for their sins and they are responsible of their actions.. There is mercy, pardoned and grace for some but the others will not get these blessings yet they are responsible for their sins. This is what is called an antinomy, which looks like a contradiction of God's law.
One thing we need to understand is that the Bible will not contradict, as the word of God is infallible, without error and contradiction. There are two lines in scripture and they both comes from God, and these two lines can never be welded up from our human mind as we live on this earth. Charles Spurgeon said on this subject, "I never reconcile friends, they are both in the same book." These two lines run parallel but will not join together for our human minds to understand. But these two lines will join together in heaven at the throne of God, where all truth springs forward.
We cannot reconcile these two lines together, with logic and human
reasoning. If we do we are bound to teach false doctrines. Election comes from
the council of God and not from the reasoning of man. "The secret
things belongs to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to
our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy
29:29)
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