The Doctrine of Predestination ... Part II

I ended Part I with this statement ... There is scripture that some say alludes to the assumption that God foreknows those who He chooses to be saved.  If you look closer ... it does not say that.

Continuing ...

Romans 8:29-30 ... "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate (pre-determine, ordain prior to, appoint, decree, specify) to be conformed to the image of His Son ... Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, (through the Gospel, the preaching of the Word) them He also justified, them He also glorified." 

Simply stated ... isn't it true that God didn't just foreknow only those He would save, but He also foreknew all things and all people who would ever live.  Before God ever created anything, He knew every event and action that would ever take place.

Yes, God did foreknow or had knowledge of all those who would accept Jesus as their Lord and savior.  But all this scripture is saying is that spiritually, God also did predetermine and ordain prior to creation that those who accept Jesus would be conformed to the image of Jesus and follow the example He set, to become Christ like and walk in love. 

My last argument against the doctrine of predestination as it is taught concerns something God has already done.  This doctrine states, He has already written down in the book of life the names of all those who will be saved.  If so ... why waste our time and money preaching the gospel.  We don't need to.  God will see that it comes to pass. 

When God determines something ... it will come to pass.  There is nothing that can change His declared will.  When He declares something, it must come to pass.  He is God.  These people whose names are in the book ... will be saved ... with or without you.  So, you are wasting your time and effort trying to make it happen.  It will come to pass ... He declared it as God.

I am not saying that the good news of the Gospel should not go forth.  I'm just looking at the argument.  Why tell the lost world about Jesus?  Because we are told to.  God knows who will receive the Word and accept Jesus and who will not.  But before they can choose, they must hear the offer.

Now ... let's look at this book of life a little closer.  Why are the names there?  Is it possible that God removes names from the book of life once they are placed there?  And if He does, why would their names be removed?  Since God knows all who are going to be saved ... what would be His purpose in removing some of their names? 

Both the Old and New Testament contain scripture affirming the removal or the blotting out of the names of the unrighteous, the unsaved ... those who are not born again.

When Moses came down from the mountain after he had received the Ten Commandments, and saw that the people had made a golden calf to worship, he pleaded to God to forgive the people of their sin.  We find Moses in conversation with God about this in ...

Exodus 32:32-33 ... "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of my book."

Jesus is the judge ... and if our sin hasn't been covered by His blood ... then He will remove our name from the Book of Life, or so it seems according to Revelation 3:5 where He says to those who overcome ... "I will not blot out your name from the book of life" ... meaning there will be some that He blots out.  

To my mind, this destroys the election theory of only the chosen of God having their names written in the book of life.  In fact, there are some people who teach that ... "The Book of Life" is not a book of the "saved" ... but rather a "Book of the Living," containing the names of all those who have ever lived.

Psalm 69:28 ... "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous."  In this scripture, David is speaking of the unrighteous that do not know God.

Compare with Isaiah 4:3 ... "And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem."

The Jews were accustomed to register the names of all the people.  Those names were written in a register, or book of the living.  When a death occurred, the name was stricken out, hence the expression ... the book of life ... meaning only the living. 

With this theory, (as a book of all those who ever lived) the Lord could ... remove or blot out the names of the lost souls, perhaps at death ... so as not to find their names in the book of life at the time of the judgment, as in Revelation 20:15. 

So we see that this book could be used to speak of both ... the saved or as all who ever lived.  I certainly do not know that much about this "Book of Life" except to understand that I do not want my name blotted out.  I want my name to be found in it.  

To bring this two part study, (such as it is) to a close ... my "Doctrine of Predestination" is this ...

God has predestined that those who freely choose to be saved by the blood of Jesus will spend eternity with Him.  All others ... well, He has predestined their eternity without Him.



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The Doctrine of Predestination ... Part I

The word predestination is not found in Scripture.  But books have been written about it.
 
If you break down this word, it has two parts.  Pre ... which means before, and destination which speaks of the place where you are going, the place where you hope to end up.  There are ultimately only two places in the term ... "predestination" ... and that is, Heaven or Hell.

As a doctrine in Christian theology ... predestination is the divine fore-ordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others.  It comes from the word predestinate ... "to pre-determine, ordain prior to, appoint, decree, or specify."
Predestination has to do with God's involvement in the ultimate outcome of our lives.

This subject matter has also been called ... "the doctrine of election" ... suggesting that God elects only certain people to be saved or born-again.  Those who believe this doctrine say that only people who God has pre-selected, and has already written their names in the Book of Life will be saved.  They reference mainly two verses ... Revelation 13:8 and 17:8.  Let's see what they have to say ...

Revelation 13:8 is speaking of non Christians during the Tribulation.  "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, (Anti-Christ) whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb (that was) slain from the foundation of the world."

In this verse ... "from the foundation of the world" ... is speaking of the planned death of Jesus on the cross even before creation ... not the names written in the book before creation.

Revelation 17:8 is also speaking of the beast, (Anti-Christ) after he ascends out of the pit and the non Christians that behold him.  The key phrase is ... "and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world ..."

This verse does say the names of those people who will worship the Anti-Christ ... "were not written" ... in the book.  Although not as clear as the first verse, this verse is simply stating that the book of life has been a reality that has existed "from the foundation of the world."  It is the book, not the names that has been from the foundation of the world.

I do not believe that either scripture suggests or alludes to, a "doctrine of election" for those who are going to be saved and redeemed, suggesting that their names were written in the book of life ... "from the foundation of the world."  The Word of God does not say that ... in my opinion.

 If it does say that ... I have two problems with this belief.  1.) That does away with the "free will" of those not selected by God to be saved.  2.) That would also mean that Jesus didn't die for "everyone" which is the main theme of the Word of God. 

If this doctrine of election is true, then what does it do to the most beloved verse in scripture? 

John 3:16 ... "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."  (Notice the word whosoever.)  

John 3:17 ... "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."  (Jesus died for the whole world.)

Jesus said this in John 12:32 ... "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."  (Why would Jesus want to draw all men to Himself, if not for salvation?)

Acts 16:30-31 ... "What must I do to be saved?  And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."  (It doesn't say if you are one of the select few.)

Romans 1:16 ... "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ..."  (Who is salvation for?  Everyone.)

These scriptures clearly indicate that God sent Jesus to die for the world, all men everywhere, not just a select few.  If all men everywhere cannot be saved ... that would mean Jesus did not die for everyone ... and that cannot be.

Next I want to look at the scriptures many people use to suggest that God elects or chooses only certain people to be saved or born-again.

Matthew 22:14 ... "Many are called, but few are chosen."  (That is, few of the Jews, or few of God's chosen people.  This parable by Jesus tells the story of a wedding celebration as an example to the Jews, who were called first; but they rejected the bridegroom Jesus, so God went out and chose or invited the Gentiles to the wedding.)

Let me make it real simple, with no deep theological talk here.  The Holy Spirit has been sent to draw all men unto Christ.  The third person of the Trinity is here and "calling" all men unto repentance.  Yes it does say, "Many are called, but few are chosen," meaning ... comparatively few accept the invitation to be saved.  Those that do are "chosen" to become His children by their yielding to the call of the Spirit. 

There is scripture that some say alludes to the assumption that God foreknows those who He chooses to be saved.  If you look closer ... it does not say that.


To be continued ...                    

  

The Battle Is Real

Three or four years ago I wrote about man's will.  Some people believe our will is the real problem concerning the choices we make in life, choices that can be either good or bad.  So now, four years later, I question whether the driving force behind natural man's choices is really his will.  The natural man is born in a fallen state, which means the body of flesh wants to rule all his actions, most of which if left to nature, will result in sin. 

Nature?  What's that all about?  Man's natural state, (what we acquire from nature at birth ... that is, apart from God's influence on your soul) the inborn, hereditary characteristics, the essential qualities locked within your DNA (the carrier of genetic information) makes up the person you will become.

Without having a choice in the matter, man is born totally naked, totally uncivilized, in a morally unregenerate condition, and unredeemed by God's grace.  Even though at birth, there is no sin on his record ... there soon will be.  That's why I say we are in a fallen state ... and we cannot help ourselves to get out of that situation.  But God can.

So today, I want to look at just what it is that influences the "soul" of man.  There's a human "spirit" within the body.  If you're alive and breathing you've got a spirit.  That's what gives you life.  Some people call it the "heart" of man as well.  And then there is the so called trouble maker ... the "will" of man that has a lot to do with our choices.

Now as I step back and look at these three or four things ... they look a lot alike.  They all play a part in who we are.  It has been said that the soul of man is the spiritual part, our eternal being that will never die because it's not of the flesh.  But I wonder if the "will" of man just might be firmly attached to and governed by ... the flesh.

If I were to describe the "soul" of man, I would say it is an intangible spiritual place not having a physical presence, located somewhere in the heart or mind, but is capable of being touched by the desires of the flesh and the Spirit of God at the same time, where it then becomes the battleground between good and evil.

I believe the will of man dwells and resides in the soul of man where it must choose at times to follow either ... the flesh or the Spirit of God.   

Romans 8:7 … "Because the carnal mind (mental inclination) is enmity (opposed or hostile) against God: for it is not subject (subordinate, under obedience) to the law of God, neither indeed can be (is not possible)."

Within the heart and mind of natural man, the carnal mindset is so closely woven and connected to the desires of the flesh, that the body, with it's fallen nature, enjoys the freedom of sin until the Spirit of God regenerates the heart and mind through salvation and the infilling of the soul with the Spirit of Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:16-17 these words to believers concerning how man is regenerated ... "I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong."  (NLT)

The soul has no power of it's own to do good or evil ... but is influenced by either the flesh or the Spirit of God.  When natural man receives the Spirit of Christ at salvation, (being born again) and the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in him, his soul will begin to have dominion over the old appetites of the flesh and he can now submit to his new "will" that is intent on obedience to God and is now in opposition to sin.

The "will" can still consent to sin, and because it is free will, it must possess this power; yet at the same time it is impossible to force it to sin.  Even Satan himself can not do this; and before he can get it to sin, he must get it's consent through temptation or other devises at his disposal.

It's a good thing for the new regenerated man to have the Holy Spirit living in his soul because the principle of sin is also equally present in us … as the old sin nature in man's flesh will continue to try and prevail.
 
Galatians 5:17  ... "The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions."  (NLT)

Make no mistake about this, even the new regenerated man's will can be worn down through the temptations of the flesh.  That's why it is important to make sure your soul, heart, and mind are full of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God ... and not the flesh.

Man's soul is the battleground ... and the battle is real.



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I'm Looking At My Faith Again

What should I do when I pray and nothing happens?  When whatever I am asking for or needing to become reality doesn't, what then?  Why doesn't it happen?  God has the ability to make it happen, but it seems as if most of the time He's silent.  Hello.  God are you listening?  

So how can I know if the faith in God I think I have is up to the challenge or strong enough to keep my ship of hope afloat in the next storm that comes my way.

As I read about the disciples Jesus was trying to inspire and instruct in the using of their faith; over and over Jesus had to admonish and reprimand them firmly for the lack of it.  A couple times He even said things like ... "O ye of little faith" or the question ... "Why did you doubt?"  

I will admit I don't understand much within the faith realm.  So many times I pray and … "nothing happens."  But as I think about saying nothing happens, I know I am wrong.  Call it a test of faith, or a proving of who I am ... whether I see a change in the situation I am praying about or not, God is still at work in me, if no where else.

I'm a hands on guy ... let me torque the nut and bolt down ... myself.  I need to know it is done right.  But with faith I can't do that.  I don't know how to get a hold on something that is not seen.  The prayer of faith is of the unseen invisible realm ... for that realm has only the intangible ... unseen and unproven to anyone except to the one believing for it.

Faith.  You've gotta have it if you want to please God.  Maybe that's my problem. 

Here's a favorite faith scripture of mine, (yes, I have some) and it actually begins with the word "but" in the original translation.  Hebrews 11:1 ... "Now (but) faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."    

Yes, faith may be real ... but until your faith request becomes visible to the natural eye, (something seen) it is still just a tentative theory, a concept not yet verified by the tangible manifestation of the answer from God.

I guess what I'm trying to say is ... I really want to start seeing more substantive seen evidence of answers to my prayers.  But then, what does that do to faith.  I know faith must come first, before the answer.  It's like a fire burning in a fireplace.  I must put more wood on the fire before I get more heat.  I can't say to the fire, give me more heat and then I will give you more wood.  It doesn't work that way with prayer either.

Let me address faith in God. 

There is a good example given by the Apostle Paul as he is speaking about Abraham believing the promise that God gave him.  I prefer how the Amplified Bible words it.

Romans 4:16 ... "Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith ... to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants ..."   

To me, this is the most important part ... "inheriting the promise (or your answer to prayer) depends entirely on faith."

Romans 4:17 …"As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed."  

God's promises are so certain, that He speaks of them (the nonexistent things) as "already" in existence.  God speaks of the promise as something already done.  In God's own mind ... it was done.  I need to see my requests as something already done.

Abraham is called "the father of faith" because he was the first to believe that when God said something, God would do it.  As far as I can tell, he was also the first to be justified by faith alone.  Today we are justified by our faith, only because of what Jesus has already done.  Jesus "alone" is our justification.

Continuing in the Amplified Bible, Romans 4:18 reads this way …"For Abraham, human reason for hope being gone, hoped in faith …"  The word hope means to anticipate with confidence.

So, I'm seeing a little more clearly now ... "inheriting the promise (or your answer to prayer) depends entirely on faith."  Wow, it's right there in black and white.

I'm looking at my faith again, and I have found one of the problems I have with my own faith ... questioning myself as to whether or not what I'm asking for "is God's will" for me or the one I'm praying for.  Instead of doubting, and that's what it is ...

Why don't I simply start believing what Jesus said in Matthew 21:22 ... "And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."

The two words "whatsoever" and "believing" covers anything a follower of Jesus would ever need to ask for.  So why can I now say that?

Because I now see very clearly ... "inheriting the promise (or your answer to prayer) depends entirely on faith."




This post is dedicated to "Maggie Thornton" who is believing for her son's healing.


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