Unconditional Election

Unconditional Election

If one holds to the doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity and thereby believes that all of mankind is so utterly depraved that they cannot respond to the grace of God, one has to believe in the Calvinistic doctrine of Unconditional Election in order to have any sort of hope for salvation. John Calvin knew this. He said, “Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he has determined in himself what he would have to become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny; but eternal life is fore-ordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined either to life or to death.”

Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows...

Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows…

In other words, we cannot respond to the grace of God due to being totally depraved and lost in sin. Therefore, the only way any of us have any hope of salvation is for God to have already made up his mind to step in and choose to disregard the sin of some of us and give them salvation anyway. This doctrine, sometimes called the doctrine of predestination, is the basis of the Calvinistic tenet of Unconditional Election: the idea that God chooses some of mankind before they are born to be saved unconditionally.

However, the Scriptures teach that God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34-35; Rom. 2:11; 10:12; Eph. 6:9). He shows no favoritism of any kind. This goes against Calvinism’s teaching that God has chosen only some of us for unconditional salvation rather than all of us. If both Calvinism and the Word of God are true, why would God have chosen only some of us for unconditional salvation instead of everyone? Isn’t that showing partiality?

The Scriptures also teach that God wants everyone to be saved (John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:4; Tit. 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:9). If John Calvin’s doctrine of Unconditional Election is true, God has chosen only some of mankind for unconditional salvation, not all. Logic dictates that if God has determined some of us to be predestined for salvation, he has also predetermined that the rest of us are destined for an eternity in hell. If both Calvinism and God’s Word are true, why wouldn’t God choose to save all of mankind unconditionally if he wants us all to be saved? Why would he have already decided that some of us will spend eternity in hell if he doesn’t want anyone to go to hell?

Any serious student of the Bible is familiar with the numerous warnings found within its pages. We are warned about Satan and his deceptions (1 Pet. 5:8; Eph. 4:27; 6:11; James 4:7). We are warned to avoid sin in order to avoid eternal punishment in hell (Matt. 5:22, 29-30). Christians are warned about the possibility of losing their salvation through unrepentant sin (Heb. 10:26-31). However, if Calvin is correct and God unconditionally elects some of mankind to be saved, then why would any of these warnings be in the Bible? Why would God tell those whom he has already chosen to be unconditionally saved to be on the alert for Satan? After all, if he has already decided that I’m going to be saved unconditionally, what can Satan do about it? Why would God warn those whom he has already decided are going to spend eternity in hell that they better not sin or else hell will be the result? Why the warnings about falling away from one’s salvation? If he’s already decided that hell is going to be where I end up, then it doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do. In fact, if God has already decided that I’m going to be saved no matter what, then why in the world would I even need to bother to go to church, read my Bible, obey the gospel, or uphold any sort of morality?

This reveals one of the major flaws in the doctrine of Unconditional Election. Under Calvinistic predestination, it would be possible for salvation to be given to a sinner who has never read the Bible or been part of the church. It would be equally possible for eternal condemnation to be given to a Christian who has read the Bible repeatedly and done his or her absolute best to faithfully live by all of its tenets and principles. In this way Calvinism really tries to make Christianity like Islam. Nonetheless, the Bible doesn’t teach what Unconditional Election proposes. One cannot hold to Calvinism and the Word of God without contradicting one or the other. Since God’s Word is truth (John 17:17), Unconditional Election is false.

However, Calvinists try to hold to both anyway. They cite Romans 8:28-30 as support for their doctrine of predestination: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (ESV). Calvinists cite the mention of predestination in this passage as proof that God unconditionally predestines some of salvation. However, such notions are proven erroneous when this passage is considered alongside the entirety of Scripture (Ps. 119:160).

Paul is telling us that God causes all things to “work together for good” (which would include obtaining eternal life in heaven) for two specific groups of people: “those who love God” and “those who are called according to his purpose.” One cannot love God without choosing to obey his commands (John 14:15; Josh. 24:15); our works of obedience, along with faith and God’s grace, justify us (James 2:24; Tit. 3:7). Likewise, the purpose for which God called those for whom he will cause all things together for good is to follow Christ’s example of doing good and enduring suffering as a result (1 Pet. 2:20-21). God calls us through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14), which calls us to obey Christ (Matt. 28:19-20). Therefore, Paul in Romans 8:28-30 is referring to those who love God by their obedience, those who faithfully and obediently respond to the gospel call.

God did not randomly predetermine some of us for unconditional salvation and others for unconditional condemnation. He HAS predetermined that those who obey his gospel and obey his Son will be saved (Heb. 5:9), not the lucky few randomly selected for unconditional salvation. This is why we are to proclaim his gospel to all (Mark 16:15).

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Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

“Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain”

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

Until you have contentment, your desires will create stress.

Until you have contentment, your desires will create stress.

All sin begins with desire. Seemingly benign desires may be perverted; the desire to eat may become the sin of gluttony, and the desire to procreate may become fornication, adultery, etc. Desires are complicated in that they lead to other desires. The desire of hunger produces a desire to seek food and go to the bakery where I desire to eat a donut; one donut turns into six, and now I have desires about what to do about eating those six donuts. This is just a small sampling of the many desires we have. We have desires related to work, family, government, church, other individuals, etc. Being overwhelmed with desires produces great stress and leads to the desire to sooth the stress, but this does not satisfy.

What is needed is contentment: being satisfied with who we are. Contentment is not trying to be something that we are not. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:6-7, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Focusing on Jesus and who He is helps us to be content because He is all we really need; He is the standard for who we were created to be and what we truly are. This is godliness, and being satisfied with that delivers us from a world of our own destructive desires. God bless you, and I love you.

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Playing to our Strength

Playing to our Strengths

Our son was one of the most naturally gifted athletes I have ever known. Even at a young age, his advanced speed, quickness, agility and athleticism were obvious to anyone who watched him play. I recall one particular elementary school basketball game he competed in. With the game on the line and only seconds left, our coach called a time-out and drew up a play which featured Chris’s ball-handling ability and would also give him the final shot, making a comment to the effect that, “If they’re going to beat us, they’re going to have to stop our best player.” Smart coach. Not because he featured our son, but because he played to our strengths; he featured that which was the best of what we had to offer. That’s what good, insightful, successful and winning coaches and people do – they emphasize and play to their strengths, instead of allowing the competition to dictate what they do.

The Gospel Truth is your greatest strength. Not some gimmick.

The Gospel Truth is your greatest strength. Not some gimmick.

This is why we, as members of the Lord’s church, must not reduce ourselves to simply just inviting others to church the way so many other competing religious groups do, but must instead, consistently utilize that which is our unique and greatest strength. We must find or create every opportunity possible, to engage people in an ongoing and in-depth personal Bible study, precisely because the word of God is our greatest strength and attraction for a lost world. Let’s face it, what other church can be proven by Scripture, to be the one the Lord established and Peter opened on the Day of Pentecost just as Jesus promised (Mt. 16:13-19; Acts 2:22-47)? What other churches can honestly claim to comprise the one, unique, exclusive, undivided and undenominated body or church of Christ which the Lord’s very own hand-picked apostles worked and worshipped in during the post-resurrection first century (Ro. 16:16; Eph. 1:22-23, 4:4-6)? What other church preaches and teaches that a lost person is cleansed, forgiven, saved, and added to the Lord’s church, in exactly the same way as our Lord’s apostles taught (Acts 2:38-47, 22:16; Ro. 6:1-6; Col. 2:12-13; 2 Ptr. 3:21)?

As evidenced above, the word of God proves every one of these points unequivocally. No man-made and founded denomination coming along centuries later can ever legitimately lay claim to any of these things. No judgement, just fact: The Catholic (circa 330 A.D.), Lutheran (1517), Baptist (1607), and so many other man-made churches which lost folks are so often invited to, are never once seen or named in Scripture – but the churches of Christ (33 A.D.) and their faith and doctrine are (Ro. 16:16-17; Jude 3; Eph. 4:11-14; 1 Tim. 4:1-6, 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4; 2 Jn. 1:9-11). Our greatest strength, is that we go solely by Scripture. Want to win the war for a lost soul? Play to your strength. Get them into the Bible (Jn. 8:31-32)!

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Building Up? Tearing Down?

Are We Building Up or Tearing Down?

Though we may not always appreciate it, one of the great values of the wonderful book of Proverbs is that the inspired wisdom frequently hits close to home. We do well to reflect upon the sayings and make personal application to self as warranted.

The role of wife and mother is powerful and honorable.

The role of wife and mother is powerful and honorable.

Consider, if you will, the rather pointed observation of Proverbs 14:1: “Every wise woman builds up her home, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.” (CJB)

The proverb is not speaking about the building or destroying of a physical structure, but to the building up of a family. A wise woman makes decisions which make her family stronger, more loving, more united and better than it otherwise would have been. Through her tireless dedication, she nurtures, admonishes, and loves those in her care so that at the end of the task, when she is closing her eyes and preparing to sleep, she knows that the home she has built will weather her absence.

The foolish woman, on the other hand ends up with a broken family – and it is her fault based entirely on the choices she made, the words she used, the behavior she encouraged, and the way she drove those close to her away. That’s a hard lesson because we so often want to blame others when we ourselves are the ones destroying the relationships we hold dear.

As an immediate application, God is reminding us that if you want a strong home: wisdom, drawn from His Word, and applied to the family life, is key; otherwise, sinful, selfish words and actions will only destroy that which we want to preserve. And, as a warning, we do well to realize that years of work can be undone by moments of foolishness. Though a potter may labor for days over a particular vessel, it is the works of mere seconds to shatter the same.

While the proverb is pointed at women in particular, it is equally applied to men. Husbands and fathers who want a strong family must work to build the same up in wisdom, while guarding against those foolish words and actions which will undo all the labor that has gone before.

What is true of the home, is true of the larger world beyond. The proverb’s application stretches to encompass many walks of life: our community, our jobs, our friendships, and even the church itself.

In each case, there is a community built upon relationships between people. These relationships are made stronger through the values and wisdom God teaches in His word. Honesty, integrity, selflessness, faithfulness, love, compassion, kindness, goodness, self-control… values such as these can only strengthen the bonds between people. Likewise, gossip, theft, ridicule, scorn, infidelity, violence, drunkenness, selfishness and greed… these sorts of behaviors tear apart the fabrics of societies, breeding distrust and isolation, and making life more difficult for all involved.

Strong homes, strong communities, strong churches and strong friendships: none of these things happen by accidents. They are built up through wisdom and perseverance, with each member of the community in question acting responsible and loving. When we choose to act otherwise, we bear responsibility for the damage that follows.

The world around us is too often torn apart by those who give no thought to the future of their respective communities as they act irresponsible, selfishly and sometimes even violently. We see images on the television of men and women tearing apart their own homes, their own towns and their own families as they lash out, engaging in self-destructive behavior. This behavior can take the form of rioting, drug-abuse, theft, divorce, alcohol, or a myriad of other sinful behaviors. In each case, the damage done does not just harm those around the perpetrator, but rebounds upon themselves with consequence after consequence.

It may sound cliché, but it’s still true – we must choose to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. We bear responsibility for our own actions and how we are choosing to build up our relationships with those around us. Rather than blaming others for the misfortunes that befall our relationships, we do better to examine our own conduct and whether we are building up or tearing down that which we hold dear.

 

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More than a Children’s Song

More than a Children’s Song

Sometimes one of life’s greatest lessons can be found in places where we would not think they could be found. There is a simple song which has been sung by children for at least sixty years which has profound truth. In reality, while it may be thought of as a children’s song, those who are older would truly profit if they thought about its message.

Watch your eyes, watch your eyes what they see.
Watch your eyes, watch your eyes what they see.
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
So watch your eyes what they see.

Each succeeding verse is similar but changes the word eye and the word see to point to another part of the body. The children point to each part of the body so there is a lot of action. Those of us who are older could profit, not by doing the accompanying actions, but by doing the “action” in our hearts.

As good stewards we should take care with the life God has given.

As good stewards we should take care with the life God has given.

Watch your eyes, what they see. “The woman saw that the tree was good…pleasant to her eyes” (Gen. 3:6). “All that is in the world…the lust of the eyes…is not of the Father” (1 John 2:16). “The eyes of man are never satisfied” (Pro. 27:20). “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (Pro. 12:15).

Watch your ears, what they hear. “Hear my prayer, O God, give ear to the words of my mouth” (Psa. 54:2). “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination to God” (Pro. 28:9). “Then he read from it in the open square…from morning until midday…and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law” (Neh. 9:8). “Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding” (Pro. 2:2).

Watch your lips, what they say. “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit” (Psa. 34:13). “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise” (Psa. 51:15). “My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, and my soul which you have redeemed” (Psa. 71:23). “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight” (Pro. 12:22).

Watch your hands, what they do. “My hands also will I lift up to Your commandments, which I love and I will meditate on Your law” (Psa. 119:48). “These six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abominations to Him…hands what shed innocent blood” (Pro. 6:16-17).

Watch your feet, where they go. “I thought about my ways and my feet turned to Your testimonies” (Psa. 119:59). “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word” (Psa. 119:101). “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path” (Psa. 119:105).

Let us sing.

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