Benjamin Netanyahu – Who Is He?

 

Benjamin Netanyahu is the current serving Prime Minister of the nation of Israel. It could be said he is the long term guardian of an imperiled nation. It is only my opinion but I think he is the God appointed leader and the only man capable of defending Israel and protecting her until that job exceeds even his capabilities. He’s there until God steps in and step in He will. This is described in some detail in the book of Revelation in the Bible.

So, who is this man, Benjamin Netanyahu and why is he the only one who can steer Israel through the toils and snares of what can only be called the existence of the nation state of Israel. Which was prophesied to be regathered from all the Earth; from North to South; East to West; as God has stated, in His word that He would do in the End Times. Israel now exists once more since she was re-established as a nation in 1948. Much to the chagrin of her enemies.

Benjamin Netanyahu is the latest and probably the most able leader of modern Israel in an auspicious list of very capable leaders. David Ben Gurion, Moshe Sharett, Levi Eshkol, Yigal Allon, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Benjamin Netanyahu, again, until the present day.

Modern Israel has needed her warrior generals and men like Moshe Dyan who led Israel through the Six Day War in 1967. Ben Natanyahu is also a warrior and such a man. He is one of the decorated members of the Israel Defense Force who was sent to Entebbe in Uganda in 1977, to rescue a group of Israeli hostages taken by terrorists on a hijacked plane to a terrorist state, the Uganda, of Idi Amin. His older brother Yonaton was killed during the mission and five other Israeli soldiers were injured. 102 hostages were taken and of those three were killed. One of the most skillfully implemented and successful counter terrorism rescue missions in history bar none. Yahweh Elohim is the God of Israel and to Him be the Glory. Ben Netanyahu is His man as Prime Minister of Israel in our time. A man among many whom God Has raised up to defend Israel in her times of need as described in the Tanakh.

When we consider the defense of Israel it is an arduous job. Israel is not only surrounded by enemies, they dwell in her midst. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are home to the people of Palestine and this nation group has been weaponised by Israel’s Muslim enemies, all of whom are nation states, and all of whom seek the complete annihilation of Israel. It involves some very tricky decision making and for the most part Israel's leaders have chosen to fight the wars and preserve the peace. For the last decade though, they have endured almost daily missile strikes and yes they developed the nifty Iron dome. If they hadn’t developed Iron dome they would certainly have suffered many hundreds if not thousands of casualties. Look at Ukraine if you want to see the damage that even relatively small munitions can do when it comes to demolishing urban buildings on a large scale. If it wasn’t for Iron dome Israel would look very similar to Ukraine.

So, now in the face of enemies who are becoming steadily more technically sophisticated and aggressive. Who are indoctrinating and arming a Palestinian enemy within Israel’s borders. Enemies who attacked on October 7^th 2023. An attack on Israel which involved 7000 Gazans firing 4300 rocks with 6000 attackers crossing the border and pressing war on various Jewish communities and even military installations. Over 1200 Israeli citizens were killed and a large number taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Although it is contended that Israel may have been aware that an attack was imminent. This was taken as the last straw and the Israeli government gave the order for war to be made on Gaza. Over the last two years the Israel Defense Force have systematically destroyed Gaza and Hamas and despite protests to the contrary from Israel it has been apparent to all that it has been their objective to remove the Palestinian threat to Israel’s security..

I’m quite sure that Israel intends to survive and they have always been prepared to fight if necessary. In this case I believe it was not just that they had had enough of Hamas and Gaza’s continual war of attrition. They simply realised that the time for fighting for their survival was upon them. Netanyahu and his government understood that if they are to have any chance of fighting the nation states that encircle Israel on a sound footing, then the enemy within must be removed. I don’t think Israel have any illusions about their ultimate chances for survival as a nation state. They have stirred up a hornets nest and are going to have to deal with the consequences. Which is where we come to the part that God will play in this situation.

Scripture states in several places that God will restore Israel in the last days (Isaiah 11:11-16). That this has happened in our time must give Netanyahu and the Jewish nation some confidence that whatever happens with the Palestinians and regardless of what the rest of the world has to say. Israel has a future and is back to stay. God says so and I imagine that being under the Law they view the destruction of Gaza as obedience to God. This could be because Israel never completely removed the races that inhabited the land when they entered it as God had instructed them too. It may be that they see this campaign as a fulfillment of God’s command to the nation of Israel at that time.

If we read the book of Revelation chapters six through to chapter eleven. We will see the judgment that comes on the world. It is a brutal destruction brought on the Earth by God’s angels and the sounding of the Seven Trumpets soon to be followed by the Seven Bowls of God’s wrath to be poured out on the Earth. Chapter thirteen tells of the woman who is Israel and how the Dragon, who is Satan, tries to kill her Son and then persecutes her. God enables her to flee and hide. Obviously elements of this prophecy about Israel are past, present and future. Shown in the life of Jesus and Satan’s attacks by Herod on the child Jesus and then Jesus ministry and persecution by the Pharisees and Sadducees leading to His crucifixion, then resurrection and ultimately ascending to Heaven,

Israel was attacked in AD 70, conquered and dispersed by the Romans. The Jews settled in various countries throughout the Middle East and ancient Asia and as far away as China. They remained without a homeland for 1878 years until Zionist activism managed to bring about the formation of Modern Israel in 1948. The battle against the Islamic states that surround Israel, and seek her soon demise, has raged throughout the last 78 years and continues with fervor under their current leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

It is my opinion that we live at the end of the Church Age and that Jesus' soon return is at hand. Throughout my lifetime, I have believed that we are at the door of the last act of mankind before the establishment of the Kingdom of God. It seems to me that the world is becoming a more volatile place with political actors who are more prone to excessive and violent solutions than to talk and reason things out.

Meanwhile, weapons are being developed that are so powerful that their use may spell the end of life on Earth. All the while the planet is being laid waste and many nations are on the verge of famine and starvation. Even if you were to ask the question “Could man survive another hundred years?” With the wars and the careless damage being done to the planet.  It is by no means certain that man could survive unless righteous men were to decide on measures that were adhered to by all of the nations. That would be unlikely because there are few righteous men and most of the planets’ governments including the much touted New World Order seem to be desperately corrupt.

So we come back to Ben Netanyahu stolidly defending Israel. Facing a difficult and seemingly hopeless task. His enemies seeking to disable and hamstring him on the world stage and label him a criminal into the bargain. What choice does he or Israel have other than to fight on, taking every opportunity to defeat the enemy within and then to take the war to the enemies without.

To me there is no doubt. God will defend Israel and from the moment she declared nationhood in 1948. Israel was back to stay and that one way or another the Lord will protect and keep her through every trial until He returns after the Time of Jacob’s Trouble which is a period of seven years of God's judgement upon the world.

Finally, Ben Netanyahu is a man for his time and given to Israel by God to guide and defend her. I pray for his wisdom, his well-being and long life that he might continue to hinder the enemies of Israel for many years to come. God willing, for I don’t think Israel can replace him. My plea to you is remember Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in your prayers. Seek wisdom for their leaders and miracles for their protection.

Religion

Over the centuries Christianity has developed an expansive library of Church traditions and theology with which to control the activities of believers in the various denominations that exist within the orthodoxy of organised religion.This has involved a bevy of catechisms of which examples range from the Roman Catholic Catechism, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg Confession of Faith and various other religious documents including Books of Church Order, Bible Commentaries etc..

Now it can be said that there is some very good teaching in many of these documents and some great merit in adhering to many of the religious traditions. Christmas and Easter are a lot of fun but how did jolly old Saint Nick get attached to the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ or where did the Easter bunny come from and why doesn’t the church call out the error of this extra Christian distortion of the celebration of the Resurrection. Lent, Advent and Holy Week as seasons of the Christian Christian cycle? Books of Church Order and Catechism, veneration of saints and objects, and various other extra biblical anomalies. Ah! Religion, now I see it.

It could be said that Christianity is swamped with Church tradition and that this situation results in the frustration of most of the most basic intentions as outlined by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels. It results, in the Churches, and believers, being confined to a worldly approach to Christian objectives. Instead of living by faith and in the Spirit. We rather live by sight and in the flesh.

When we should be coming together as a congregation and prayerfully seeking God’s will for our future. We come together as church members attending a business meeting where instead of searching the bible we peruse books of church statutes and do what is right in our own sight. It hi-lights what happens when we Christians lose focus on walking daily with Jesus Christ and living in the Spirit.

We proceed through life living in the flesh and as the apostle Paul put it “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:5). Could this be why Jesus jousted with the Pharisees and was the center of so much opposition from them? To the point that they conspired to murder Him and carried that plot to its conclusion on the Cross. Ah! Religion, now I see. Religion is power!

So, what is Religion and why is it so destructive to the Christian walk. Well for what it’s worth this is my take on the whole distracting, disruptive business that is Christian Religion. I have personally never taken a label for who I am and what I believe other than calling myself a Christian. I have always felt that others who believe on and love Jesus Christ are my brothers and sisters, in Christ.

In the first century, before the followers of Jesus became known as Christians they were known as “The People of the Way.” I really like that description of the Christian as follower of Jesus and I would accept it myself. Christianity is a way of life and is entirely based around our belief and faith in Christ Jesus and the relationship that we have with Him.

It is a moment by moment relationship with Him through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and religion has no part in it. It is a living thing where we are so close to God that He is a part of us. Religion only happens when we live a fleshly life with some spiritual connections. If we walk by sight we allow Satan to begin speaking into our hearts.

If we do all the outward features of walking in the Spirit only people who know us really well will know we are actually just faking it. If every Christian in our church is faking it except one or two then Satan has a way into the church administration. When important decisions are taken and don’t seek God because we aren’t closely connected to Him then we do what is right in our own sight. Having a quorum doesn’t make it right. After a few disasters we all decide we need to write a few things down.

We call it a Church Book of Order or if we’ve been doing this for a century, or two, we write the scripture interpretations we like into something we call a Confession of Faith. Now you may say that those type of documents are actually really necessary and if we are going to keep operating with a shallow relationship with God then you are probably right.

A friend was asking me what I thought about the place of women in the Church? I said to him look at the example of Lydia in the bible. No one appointed her to be the leader of the Church in Thyatira. She simply became Paul’s first convert there and started a church in her own home. No one seems to have opposed the idea just because she was a woman. Paul seemed happy enough with her and God seems to have appointed her and they were walking in the Spirit with a powerful relationship with God. No church book of order required.

You see the Holy Spirit writes God’s law in your heart and puts it in your mind but if you don’t stay connected to God then you start having to write down your own laws in a document somewhere. It is not as good as God’s because its Man’s Law not God’s but in the absence of the real thing it fills a gap. The reason Satan likes it is because as it did with the Pharisees using Man’s Law consolidates power with the Church leadership in the hands of a few powerful people. The locus of control moves from the people into a church hierarchy that becomes an amalgam of church and state and ultimately doesn’t even resemble the organisation that God intended His Church to be. Check out Revelation seventeen.

So Satan’s attack on Christianity and the Church as an organisation is four fold. First, get the Christians focused on themselves and to walk by sight instead of faith. In the flesh not in the Spirit. Instead of seeking God in continual prayer they spend most of their time living in their own power. Instead of miracles they seek solutions. The result is they drift away from God and their faith begins to wain. Instead of a vibrant spiritual life they become spiritually dead.

Secondly, because, they no longer commune with God they need rules to enable the solutions they seek. So, they start to write guidelines for the Christian life and the functioning of the Church. Next, they start to write commentaries and catechisms filled with their best guess interpretations of God’s Word. Soon, those writings take on a kind holiness and become of a higher status than the Bible. Because there is error in them they begin to have and impact which is visible, and measurable, when compared to the Bible and the voice of the Spirit in our hearts. If we are honest we know this nonsense is not right but when has the sure knowledge of error ever stopped men walking in error.

Thirdly the enemies next step is to set up a hierarchy among the leaders of the Church and among the congregants. The hierarchy among the congregants is especially useful because it can be used to control those who would seek to steer the Church back in the right direction. The hierarchy amongst the leadership goes from deacon to Bishop and is theoretically based on God’s word but it rapidly becomes and old boys club and it is not what you know but who you know that determines the outcomes. With this structure Satan usurps God’s control within the Church and establishes a culture that at its root is Antichrist. This is by no means universal in its control but there are elements of this hierarchy in every denomination.

Finally, having lulled the believers to sleep; Having instituted rules and theology; Having instituted a dominant leadership hierarchy; Then the enemy capitalises on the fact that the believers are not communing with God and not obeying the great commandment. Jesus said “You will know them by their fruit.” The reality is they don’t have any fruit not in the mainline Churches and none that is good in any case.

So, what has to happen to turn all of this around? The same thing that usually happens when the Almighty quickens the flock. Probably, some persecution followed by a genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The impact will most likely be stronger among the lost although it will certainly start among the Churches and the Christian folk who wake and begin to walk in the Spirit and commune with God once more.

Dear Friends,

Your personal relationship with Jesus Christ is everything and is paramount. Your walk in the Spirit depends on it. To actually achieve the will of God you need to commune with Him all of the time. When you do things for the Church you need to do it as a whole and prayerfully seeking God’s will.

Remember what Jesus said...

John 15: 4-5

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ESV

In Christ,

Bruce

Are we free to choose Christ Jesus?

 

Some folk believe that man is totally depraved and without the ability to choose to believe on Jesus Christ or to do any good thing. That he has no free will and that he lives a life scripted by God for good or for bad. When I think about this I wonder what would the world look like if we knew there was a God but we had no divine guidance in the form of the bible. If we had no authoritative source of information to tell us about the history of the people of God. Nothing to lead us to Christ Jesus or to show us about His redemptive work on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead. What would the world be like?

The apostle Paul told us that the all of mankind knows right from wrong in their hearts. God has put that knowledge in the souls of all humanity (Romans 1:19-20). Satan tells mankind that there is no God and a man should do whatever he desires to do. Do what you want in other words. However, the conscience that God has given you informs you that there is a path that is wicked and a path that is righteous. You have the knowledge and you have the choice.

So, if we look at our depravity from the God’s point of view we simply don’t measure up. Romans 3:10 tells us that “There is non righteous not even one.” Romans 3:22 says “All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 puts it this way “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So when stand before God we are clearly deficient or as the prophet Isaiah states “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” KJV

If we consider our situation from a human point of view where we are considering our good deeds or our sinful acts in comparison to our equally fallen brothers and sisters. May be we can be more merciful to our fellow men and women. We all know at least someone who is not a Christian but who is a good person when judged by human standards and as I mentioned before we all have a heart felt knowledge of right and wrong. Christians are saved but are not perfect in this life and this is also the case with non believers who are often decent folk but not perfect in this life. Non Christians may choose to be as righteous as they can be because they have the free choice. They may not have heard the gospel or read the bible but often they try to be as righteous as they can as people who don’t know God. This does not apply to all as some people are just wicked but that is often a choice they make for themselves.

However, The fallen and unsaved do good things every day. Mothers and Fathers love their children. They feed and care for them and even give their lives for them in many places around the world. Are these not righteous acts. We hear tales of valor from wars and from disasters and often these are from people who are not Christian. If we cannot do any good thing with out the grace of God, how is it that the unrighteous can do these things at all?

I believe that much of the thinking that underpins ideas like “We are so depraved we can do no good thing without the grace of God,”comes from legalism and church tradition. It is the traditions of men based in the arrogance that we know better than those around us. It is so easy to be saved and credit the grace of God for our salvation while condemning the lost for their depravity. Interesting in the light of what Jesus says in John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (NKJV). If God does not condemn the world then why do we?

Ezekiel chapter eighteen is interesting reading when it comes to learning about God’s attitude to sin and repentance. In paraphrase, Ezekiel speaks here of how God views the sins of the fathers and the impact they have on the righteousness of their sons. The end of the chapter, verses thirty through thirty two says this: “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”

Here, the prophet speaks to the reader as though they are able to hear his message and react to to it. There appears to be no question of them being unable to respond to his instructions because of their depravity. God who inspired the prophet, seems to expect them to repent and return to Him as though the course is open to them and they are completely able to comply with His request. It is as though He views them as free will beings with the freedom to choose.

It is interesting that the people are being told to repent and turn from their transgressions in a similar way to that which the apostle Peter proclaims in the book of Acts chapter three verses seventeen through twenty: “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers also did. But the things which God previously announced by the mouths of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has fulfilled in this way. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you..” (NASB).

Now, if you read Ezekiel chapter eighteen and the passage from Acts chapter three you will see that the people are given a clear vision of sin and repentance and God has given them a clear choice, and He gives it with the expectation that you will obey and live. The choice is yours my friends. It always has been and it is a choice given to free will beings created in the image of God. Whom God hopes will choose His Son, Jesus Christ, that they might have eternal life and live forever with Him in the kingdom of heaven.

So let the bible which is the divinely inspired word of God have the last say.

Two Peter chapter three verses eight and nine:

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance..” (NASB).

John chapter three verse sixteen:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV)

The Whole Picture

 

Many Christians speak of salvation in terms of election and grace. However, the bible provides more information about salvation than election alone and the bigger picture involves faith, belief and an element of personal choice.

Now, it is not agreeable to talk about freedom of choice in many Christian circles. This is because as it is considered that since the fall of man, humanity is so completely depraved that they are unable to choose to do any good thing.

A fallen person then, would be unable to believe that God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, bore their sins on the cross and that through believing in His redemptive work they would receive eternal life.

Therefore, from this perspective people can only be saved through God’s grace. This statement is true but focuses on only part of the picture of salvation. This is because God desires a people for His own possession (1Peter 2: 9-10), and that we each must choose to believe on Jesus Christ to become members of the people of God and to gain entry to the Kingdom of Heaven.

You see, it all comes back to what happened with Lucifer in heaven. Lucifer was perfect in every detail until sin was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15). Although God created him perfect, Lucifer (Satan), chose to disobey the will of God and sought to usurp the throne of God. To attempt to achieve this he led one third of the angels in a battle against God. He lost the war and was forcibly ejected from Heaven (Revelation 12:3-4).

He then came to Earth and decided to attack God’s creation there and by tempting Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-6). In doing this, he brought about the fall of man and usurped their throne to become the prince of this world.

Now, because Satan was created perfect and decided to rebel against God as were Adam and Eve. It is now very important to God that man makes a choice to either believe on Jesus Christ and live or to reject Him and die. It must be a free will choice. Which is not to say that God will not assist man to make that choice through grace.

This is because, man has experienced sin and its consequences in this one life on Earth (1Corinthians 15:42). Every man is to live and die once and then the resurrection To those who choose to believe on Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. They are resurrected to Eternal Life. To those who reject Jesus Christ. They are resurrected to judgement and the second death, eternal fire.

Thus, it is not only a matter of predestination and election from the foundation of the world although this is an essential part of salvation. It is also critical that man be able to exercise freedom of choice in the matter of salvation.

The method of delivery of that freedom of choice is the Holy Spirit. He brings the conviction of sin into the heart of the lost person who hears the gospel message (John 16:8). Under conviction, he enables them to make a decision, either to believe on Jesus Christ and to receive eternal life or to reject Jesus Christ and to receive eternal damnation. The choice is theirs.

So it is, that those who would believe on Jesus Christ would also want to spend eternity in the universe run according to the will and law of God (Psalm 16:11). Those who reject Christ would not want to spend eternity in His kingdom. As is evidenced by those who implore the rocks to fall on them and the hills to cover them when Jesus returns at the end of the tribulation in the book of Revelation.

It is often put forward by those who favour a Calvinist approach to predestination and grace, that all is provided that is needful for salvation through God’s grace and that all is achieved through the fulfilment of the sovereign will of God. However, there is also a mention of the will of man in the bible (Revelation 21:6).

If we read the bible clearly and without bias and were we to consider the concept of a ‘People of God’s Own Possession’ as if they were in a train on a railway line. Then each of the rails in this track would have a name. One would be called Election and Predestination, and the other rail would be called Freedom of Choice to Believe.

God desires a people who will obey His will. This is mentioned in Revelation chapter 22 verse 17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” KJV

The meaning of this verse is a positive decision on behalf of the believer to obey the will of God and to strongly desire to avail themselves of the glorious rewards of eternal life, bestowed on the people of God in the Kingdom Age to come.

So, what is the outcome of election and faith in my opinion. Well, I believe that we are chosen of God and surely elected in the sovereign will of God. I also believe, that we must choose God and believe on Christ Jesus with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, with all of our minds and with all of our strength. Then we must love our brother as we love ourselves.

Sovereign Election and Free Will Beings – Both Are True In God.

Getting the Gospel Across

 

 

 

There's a bible called The Message. I would hazard a guess that the focus of the message is  sharing the gospel with as many people as possible. It a achieves this by shifting the bible into a plain speaking easy reading language that is accessible to any person.

 

I feel the same about what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, had to say about sharing the gospel with the whole world. Matthew chapter twenty eight verses eighteen through twenty. "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 

So we need to get out there as Christians and share a simple gospel with the people containing the truth about sin and how it separates us from God. Romans 6:23 "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

 

It's not rocket science folks. We are sinners and yet while we were still sinners Jesus died on the Cross at Calvary in our place, paying the cost of our sins. All you need do is to acknowledge that your sin separates you from God; Believe on Jesus Christ to receive eternal life; Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.

What Does The Bible Actually Teach?

There are a lot of different biblical doctrines and teachings in the Christian sphere of influence. It is also true to say that the Bible is often cited when many different theologies are being discussed both in the Church and outside of it. However, It is not unusual to hear knowledgeable people say that a given teaching is not what you might arrive at if you simply read the Bible. It is not what the Bible has to say.

This is the case for elements of the Pentecostal, the Calvinist and the Adventist belief systems to name a few. For instance, in the Pentecostal faith there is a strong contention that receiving the Holy Spirit is always evidenced by speaking in tongues. The problem here is that there is not enough scripture to support that contention. 

The number of scriptures relating to speaking in tongues are relatively few and it is not completely clear what the phrase ‘speaking in tongues,’ actually means. Is it speaking in unknown languages, angelic or human? Is it for worship and the glory of God or is it to convey meaning and assist the dissemination of the gospel or both? There are many arguments either way and the Bible is not clear on which is the absolute truth of the matter. Thus, it is hard to make a categorical statement of fact either way but to do so puts one in the situation previously eluded too where you are saying something that the Bible does not actually say.

In the Calvinist faith it is contended that a person is elected to salvation on the sovereign will of God alone and contributes nothing to their salvation. In fact, even the choice to believe on Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the Cross is said to be bestowed by God’s grace as an artifact of God’s sovereign will. Such that, the freedom to choose salvation for ones’s self is removed from the equation. 

The question here is if you simply read the Bible for your self is this the conclusion that you will arrive at? Personally, I would point to many scriptures that tend to indicate that when you are speaking of the doctrine of election the answer is yes God has exercised His sovereign grace and will. However, the answer is also yes the Christian has exercised his, or her, free and personal choice in this matter of salvation as per John chapter three verse sixteen.

Adventism is another example of how different faiths interpret the bible. For the most part Adventist’s preach a gospel based on understanding the gospel as it is laid out in the book of John chapter three. However, they have some notable additions to their faith in that they include the writings of Ellen White and have a group of doctrines based on the Millerite Great Disappointment of 1844. 

Notably, that Jesus Christ didn’t return to the Earth in 1844 but instead went into the inner sanctuary in Heaven and has been interceding for the saints, on a case by case basis ever since, to see who has sufficient good works to make it into the Kingdom in the resurrection. Evidently, Jesus wasn’t able to pay the sins of the whole world on the cross. This doctrine is called the Investigative Judgement.

I know that I have mentioned my three favorite religious entities in this piece and that I tend to go on about them in some detail and also fairly regularly. What I am trying to get at here though is that it is important to search the scriptures and to find out for yourself what they say about the different doctrines. Is what scripture says actually what different faiths claim that it says.

It is amazing how the leaders of those faiths claim that they teach what the Bible says and even seem to teach against some of the beliefs of their group but in the end manage to add what amounts to false teaching into their preaching while scarcely batting an eye lid. They also tend to incorporate the same church traditions that they might rail against other Christian groups for adhering too in their beliefs. 

This can be the case with congregants as well. They rail against others for taking verses out of context while happily picking a verse here and a verse there and then pick one or two verses while ignoring the rest of the chapter and taking the whole issue out of context at the same time. 

My counsel, for what it is worth is to select a topic that is relevant to your walk or your Church. Then study what the Bible says about it. Search all of the relevant scriptures and make notes about what the Bible seems to be saying about this issue. Then, read some commentaries and try to get a sound perspective on what the scripture really says. Just because a group teaches a certain doctrine does not mean that, that is what the Bible says and yes sometimes the Bible has very little to say on an issue. Which tends to allow some creativity on behalf of the various religious organisations as they compound doctrine and tradition.

So, take some time to really check out what the bible does say about the various theological issues. What it does teach and what you can preach with confidence. Use it to compare and contrast what your denomination teaches and believes. The question is always what does the bible actually teach? 

Acts chapter seventeen verses ten to eleven, “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” NASB

Reach the Lost

 

In this time Christianity is almost mirroring the World. Politics is becoming increasingly divided and polarized and so is the Church. Where politics is seeing the disappearance of parties in the center and the return of extreme left and right wing parties into the mainstream. The Church is seeing the disappearance of denominations that believe the gospel. They are being supplanted with other denominations who believe that the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the Cross was not enough to save mankind by itself.

 

As a result we have these various denominations believe that Christ and the Father met in the beginning to decide who would be saved. Still others believe that the believer must do more to ensure their salvation than simply believe. One wonders where these ideas find their source? In a way they are similar to Roman Catholicism even though the proponents of them would rail at the very idea of such a thing. The Catholics make no bones of the fact that in their view no one will make it to heaven without a lengthy stay in purgatory. They teach that life is about making yourself more godly and righteous so that God will accept you.

 

Meanwhile, society is moving further and further from its Christian roots and is descending into  a drug induced malaise. Citizens in so many countries are straying into paganism while social media is exposing them to everything from atheism to the occult. Secular socialism with a spiritual component, paganism. As we moved into a new era in the fifth century as the rise of Christianity changed the face of the world at that time. So, now we are making the reverse move and heading back to pantheism and pagan spiritism.

 

Our youth are actually quite strong young people but the effects of drugs and secularism are impacting their perspective on life. However, they have community and contrary to popular belief of many are quite good communicators exhibiting loyalty, concern for their peers and genuine love for each other. I think, they are similar to the great generation of WWII in many ways and if they are to go through similar life experiences to that generation and hear the gospel. I think they stand a good chance of becoming Christians and entering the Kingdom of God.

 

 In this light, we have a great opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. These young people can be reached and even though the bible tells us that many will fall away in our time. The gospel will be shared around the world and a multitude will turn to righteousness in Christ Jesus and will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. As Christians we need to start sowing the seed, while others of us water and tend the crop.

 

Some might read this piece and say "What need we do as the lost are lost and the saved are saved." Personally, I don't subscribe to that belief. The word of God says clearly in Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” and again in 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

 

 So, it is that the lost have a choice to make and can hear the gospel and respond to it or reject it. They may choose to accept the gospel and live or reject it and die in their sins. In the same vain we have a job to do, fulfilling the great commission and taking the gospel to all the world. That all the world may hear the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ and choose to receive the forgiveness of sins through the His shed blood on the Cross at Calvary. The choice is theirs but the honour to bear the gospel is ours as servants of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remember Where You Come From…

 

So often as Christians, we can get all puffed up and proud as we pass through other people's lives. We seem to think that because we are Christian, that gives us the right to judge others and condemn them for their actions. To say and do things that are neither kind nor understanding.

It is important to speak grace into the lives of those around us and not speak darkness into them. It involves the great commandment "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." It also involves carefully considering the words you choose to share with others. To be careful not to speak from anger or frustration and to measure the depth of impact on others before you say anything to them.

 

Jesus shared a parable that shows a great truth and that relates to this idea of forgiving others and not unleashing judgement upon them. In Matthew 21: 21 -35 Jesus described a man who came before his master owing much. The master was moved to sell all of the man's possessions to recover the debt. The man begged for forgiveness and the master forgave all of his debts. However, after he had left his master, he came across another man who owed him money and without mercy had him thrown into prison. Others told his master about the man's actions and justice was swiftly served. He too, was thrown into jail until he could repay his master all that he owed.

 

When we as Christians, are harsh and unforgiving to others we run the risk of putting ourselves in the same position as the unforgiving servant. In Christ Jesus we are forgiven much and it behooves us to forgive others much. If we are unforgiving to others we run the risk of incurring God's wrath on ourselves because God has forgiven us much, so we are to forgive others much.

 

At heart we Christians are sinners and sin has dominion within our hearts. This is because firstly, sin is a deed for which we need forgiveness and we get this when we first believe on Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God who bore our sins on the Cross. In short when the Saviour justifies us our sins are forgiven.

 

Secondly, sin is depravity and causes mankind to wallow in wickedness. Scripture speaks of a promise that the Saviour makes to us about this situation and His solution for it. Ezekiel 36:26 puts it this way “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh…" So God dwells in us and gives us a completely new heart to lift us out of a state of sinful depravity. This is sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

Thirdly, sin is a despotic ruler in us and fights with us continually to lead us back into depravity. The way out of this continual siren song of sin is to replace sin with Christ Jesus as our ruler. Scripture has this to say about the subject. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." and Romans 12: 1-2 says this "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect…"

 

So friends, we need to be aware of how we interact with others taking care to speak righteousness and Christ into their lives. We also need to be aware of the battle between sin and righteousness in our own hearts and minds. We need to understand that we are no better than anyone else because we are sinners just like them. In Christ a work is in progress in us so that Christ Jesus may present us perfect before the Father in the resurrection.

 

From <https://www.openbible.info/topics/making_christ_our_ruler

A Beacon

 

Love the Lord with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength, and love your neighbour as you love yourself.

I have spent the last few years in the spiritual wilderness for some reason or other. I thought I was just weak and that there was no real reason for the malady that seemed to be holding me back from others. I think though that God always has a purpose for the trials that befall us and more often than not it has to do with brokenness and the need for that in following God’s will.

If you look at the aspirations of our hearts in terms of what we desire and impacts that they have on where we see our future. You see that what God brings on us usually involves a conflict between our aspirations and His aspirations for our future. We get despondent and depressed because we feel we are not achieving on the world stage, but in reality God is shaping us through events that we do not desire and outcomes that we do not see the value in and we are travelling in what we perceive as being the wrong direction.

Businesses do not thrive, work places do not blossom with opportunities that we would see as being advantageous. We end up being servants and not rulers. We become discontented with being stuck in what we see as the wrong places and those around us do not behave in ways that we would see as being desirable in time frames we would see as advantageous.

Further, those we would want to be in the hand of Jesus do not seem to be any closer to getting on to their knees and confessing their sins to their creator or changing into biddable Christian people who could do what we would like them too? We ask Lord “What are you thinking, surely these lost individuals would be better if they were saved and the Holy Spirit was working in their hearts.” However, we do not listen for an answer because we know it would involve waiting on God and His perfect timing.

Lately and personally, I have returned to working as a reliever at a local high school. I had thought that particular part of my life to be closed and that I was in semi retirement and caring for my family. So, here I am back working five days a week with difficult youngsters who although they are talented have often have little or no inclination to learn even if their futures might depend on it.

For a long time in education, the thinking was that fostering self esteem and creating a well rounded individual was more important than discipline and learning. The result was petulant youths with no respect for those older than they are or authority in general. Now, we have created those holistically well rounded graduates we sought, but unfortunately they have achieved less and less academically until now some are not suitable for integration into the work force and many of them lack the means for a successful career.

The cycle is coming full circle and although we don’t use corporal punishment we are tending to act more sternly toward the students. Factor in devices, and we still have a problem because the students are not only petulant they fail to see the benefit in the education they are receiving because they cannot see the relevance of it to their lives. We are trying to control device access but the horse appears to have bolted and it is too late to regain control of the narrative.

What it comes down to is that those in control have dumbed the education system down and have given the younger generation the devices with the intention of making them more prone to suggestion, educating them in war and with less academic achievement they are making them more controllable.

We are arriving at the destination that the enemy has planned for our once Christian country and now we desperately need to have God bring repentance and revival to our foundering land before we reap the consequences of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind.

What it comes down to is that we are now in a situation where the only way to restore the past is to preach the gospel to lost generations and pray for them. Only in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ can they be led to the lives which value those around them and to acquire wisdom that will restore them into communion with God and to find the future God has planned for them. 

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope." 

So of myself and coming out of the desert. I find myself focusing on what it is God wants me to do now He has me back education. One of the things that he led me too is the way I work with the groups of students in the classroom. Years ago when I was training my lecturer noticed that I am very calm and the students tap into that calmness. I didn’t really understand the comment at the time.

A friend of mine always comments on the calmness I bring to their department and how the students really benefit from that. Again, I didn’t really understand. I have always used a collaborative approach with the learners and a non confrontational style. Recently, I have been working with colleagues who use a much more assertive style of classroom management than I do and it caused me to reassess my own approach. Should I change to a more authoritarian model?

The question is really could I change my way of managing the classroom. I mean, I am who I am or I am who God has made me. This became a real challenge for a while as I grappled with how I might become more assertive and clamp down on the students. In the end I decided that I don’t want to spend my time jousting with the children and decided that I’ll just continue as teaching in the same style that I have. I am calm because I need peace in relating to those around me. It is a prerequisite for me in life.

Philippians 4: 4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” BSB

The peace that I bring to the classroom is not my own, No, if you read the passage above you will see that it comes from Christ Jesus. It starts with His gentleness revealed in my heart by the Holy Spirit. I try not to be anxious but that can be a hard ask with a group of agitated young people. I certainly pray and seek God for them while I’m with them but that calm that folks notice? Well, that comes from the peace of God which surpasses all understanding and God guards my heart that is for sure.

In the secular arena Christians are not able to preach the gospel in our schools so to reach people you have to model being a Christian to them. The calm that I radiate comes not from my inner peace but from the presence of the Holy Spirit within me. God has changed me into a beacon, and he reaches out to those around me through His peace and calm in me. Please don’t get me wrong. I am not boasting of being perfect rather I am just a humble servant of the Living God, Yahweh Elohim. Someone that loves Him and that it pleases Him to use.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The Important Things…

 

 

 

I went to a funeral yesterday. The young man who died was only in his twenties. His life had been a difficult one with serious personal health issues and a family that was in the throes of drug addiction and gang affiliation.

 

Yet this young man had because of the many challenges he had faced been determined to make the most of life. To love his family and to appreciate the people he met. He did his best to acknowledge those who had helped and supported him along the path of the journey that was his life.

 

My life has been a charmed life. My problems have been tiny by comparison to the challenges this young man faced on a daily basis. Attending the funeral of this young man who died too young opened my eyes to the aspects of life that really matter.

 

Throughout my life, I have worried about bible prophecy and the coming of the End Times. At times I have lost sight of the value of a human life. It is easy to justify the ravages of war without counting the cost in human suffering and death. It is easy to look at person and make judgements about them without walking a step in their shoes.

 

Occasionally, it is pertinent to revisit prophecy. When 9/11 happened and the world began to change. In recent years with the Covid Epidemic, and recently with the second Trump Presidency, the Gaza War and now with the Israel and Iran 12 Day War. It has been time to consider how world events might fit into the biblical view of this time.

 

However, it is important to never use prophecy to devalue human life. Everyone who lives is valuable in the eyes of God. Many have died in the war over Gaza and it would be easy to say that they hate God's people Israel and therefore deserve it. This is not really the case. The needless killing of innocent women and children is never justified and you cannot tell me that God endorses this approach to solving a conflict.

 

 This is particularly the case with Israel because they rejected the Savior. If they repented and accepted Jesus Christ, then as the Children of God they would be instantly forgiven and restored. There would be no further need for an endless internal war with the Palestinians or the rest of the Middle East as God would settle all of those issues for them.

 

Unfortunately, prophecy tells that Israel is going to have to go the long route to come to that realisation and the entire world is going to suffer the pangs of the judgement time. Many will die needlessly and this could be avoided if only the world would repent and believe on the only begotten Son of God gaining the forgiveness of sin and eternal life in the process.

 

So, what can we take out of all of this then. Unfortunately, we live in a world at war. A war where there is a battle for the hearts and minds of men and women. A war many don't realise is happening at all. Some are fortunate enough to have the wealth or the moral values to avoid the worst of it but still never understand that it is not about this life but the next one. Other's like the family of the young man who died are caught up in the mayhem of drugs and the poverty of life that it imparts. They know only sadness and the fatigue of hoping for something better but not knowing how to obtain it.

 

In the end it is very simple. They need deliverance and there is only one who can bring it to them. There is only one who can wrest us from the hands of the Satan the evil one, the prince of darkness and the prince of this world.

 

The deliverer is called Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the only begotten Son of God. Whoever you are and wherever you are, there is only one name under Heaven by which you must be saved and that is the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Regardless of the troubles you face or what the life you live looks like. The battle you face is actually about whether you will avoid the second death and live to reign forever with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. To do this you need only repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, for the forgiveness of sin and to receive the Holy Spirit. If you believe on Jesus you will not perish but have everlasting life.

 

As to the dear young man who passed away. My prayer is the God met him as he lay in hospital and that he called on the name of the Lord, for it says that all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. I hope to see him one day, across the river with the Lord in the Kingdom of God.

 

Remember my friends, we are people and all people are important to the Lord our God. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him."

 

From <https://biblehub.com/nasb_/john/3.htm>

 

My Choice or God's?

 

Hypothesis. To focus on the process of election in exclusion to the process of salvation causes a massive distortion in how the scriptures relating to each process are interpreted. The result being the Calvinist versus Arminian debate of the last several centuries. If you understand the believing on Christ Jesus is catalyst for either process and that God credits your belief to you as faith, then the scriptures relating these processes become unified and the debate is settled.

When I first became a Christian as a child. I was four years old. It happened because of a conversation between my father and an older brother. I confessed my belief on Jesus Christ and have been a faithful believer ever since that day.

Over those first years, I believed that Christ Jesus bore my sins on the Cross and shed his blood to pay the price of my sins and the sins all who believe on him. For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in  Jesus Christ our Lord. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him (Romans 6:23; John 3:17).

I believed in a loving God who gave myself and all believers the choice to believe on Jesus Christ His Son and to gain salvation. However, when I was ten years old and attending Southwell School in Hamilton. Canon Sergel, the principal and chaplain of the school preached on the Doctrine of Election. He quoted John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” And, the parable of the Wedding Feast, notably Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

I remember that I was very disturbed by that teaching. Up until that time I had thought that the onus was on the unbeliever to believe on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. That it was imperative that as men we hear the gospel and act on it to be saved. This teaching implied clearly that rather than being my decision to believe on Jesus it was God’s decision to choose me that made me one of the elect?

I didn’t know what to do with this knowledge, at the time, so I disregarded it as being too difficult to understand and moved on adhering to my first belief. I couldn’t accept that it was the Father’s choice that I believe on Jesus Christ and that I had no part in the process. It didn’t seem right, and it still doesn’t to this day.

The years past and about seven years ago I began attending Grace Presbyterian, a Calvinist Church, and so began a stiff introduction to the world of Election, Catechism and Five Point Calvinism. There were times when I tried to accept this somewhat austere world view as the truth. However, in the end I just cannot come to grips with it. To believe that God predestines one to election and the other to reprobation from the beginning when they had done nothing seems unlike the God I know and love. It begs the question is Calvinism a cult?

In my opinion, a Christian cult is any religious group that holds opinions or has doctrines that stand between the believer and Jesus Christ. It can be an idol as with the adherents of the King James version where the KJV is held as being as important to doctrinal truth as the gospel.

 Another example of such idolatry is the Westminster Confession of Faith and other catechisms, such as the Heidelberg Confession. In reformed churches believers often consign more of the catechism to memory than they do bible verses.

With Adventism and Calvinism, a person can be the barrier that stands before the believer and their Savior. In the first case that person is Ellen White and her writings which are presented as being of equal credibility as the Holy Bible itself. Those teachings have spawned several highly suspect doctrines, for example, the Doctrine of the Investigative Judgement which holds that Christ Jesus entered the Inner Sanctury in Heaven and has been investigating to see who has sufficient works to get them into the Kingdom of God.

 Calvin is the barrier in Calvinism and his writings have resulted in the fanaticism of hyper Calvinism and ultimately underpin Five Point Calvinism. The result being that adherents state that the believer can only be predestined by the sovereign will of God and has no choice in believing that Jesus bore our sin on the Cross. This besmirching the character of God with the doctrine of double predestination where God predestines the elect to eternal life and the lost to eternal damnation from the foundation of the world. This when they had done no wrong. Impugning God with responsibility for their eventual sin.

As to what I believe about election and salvation. I believe that what the bible says about Election and Salvation is that both are true. We are foreseen and predestined to be the elect from the foundation of the world, and we have the choice to believe on the only begotten Son of God that we might not perish and have eternal life.

If you follow the Calvinist approach to election and salvation you will find a considerable emphasis on election. They tend to believe that the Christian is elected in an act of the sovereign will of God and that there is no individual choice that the Christian can make to enact this process. All that is needed by the lost person is to be elected by God and then empowered by God’s grace.

This is fundamentally true but there is more to it. For a start a human being is a creation of Yahweh, and we have His breath in us, so we live. We are created in His image, so we are creative as Yahweh is creative. We think about things, and we make decisions and choices about what we will create and what we will do as we live the lives, He has given us. This is what Yahweh has intended for us as His creations.

One of the biggest choices that any man or woman will make is whether to believe in the creator God, Yahweh. It was paramount under the Old Covenant with Yahweh and it is paramount under the New Covenant with Yahweh and His only begotten Son, Yeshua. To believe is the greatest decision we will ever make and the greatest privilege we will ever know.

In fact, it is this decision that we make that God foresees from the foundation of the world and that causes Him to choose us to join the faithful, the elect, the Bride of Christ. When He sees, we would choose to believe on Him and to believe that He so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that we might not perish but inherit eternal life. He chooses us to become the Elect ones, the Faithful and a people for His own possession. There is an element of the corporate in this election, but it is also a deeply personal decision for both God and the believer.

Hebrews chapter eleven verse six “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” The glue that ties the idea of election together with the idea of free choice to believe on the Savior, Jesus Christ is in one word consistently used in scripture, to believe. For without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

When, we read in John chapter six verse forty-four “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” We see one of the key scriptures of Calvinism which seems to be saying you cannot receive salvation through Christ Jesus and ultimately election with out sovereign input from the Father to bring you near to Jesus.

To understand what Jesus was saying in this passage to the Pharisees, his followers and the disciples. We can add John chapter 6 verses fifty-two to fifty-four “The Jews therefore quarrelled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus knowing what that he was going to be crucified and become a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, shared a concept that we accept as a part of normal Christian routine in our time. That of the sacrament in which we take the bread and wine as the symbols of his body and blood in the knowledge that His body was broken and He shed His blood for us on the cross.

Finally, to bring this passage into perspective I quote from John chapter six verses sixty through to sixty-five “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

 So, to conclude with the meaning of this passage. Jesus tells the Pharisees and his followers that to become his followers the Father must draw them near to Him. He elaborates that to gain eternal life they must not just believe in him but eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Then He explains to the disciples that he is speaking of the Spirit not of the flesh. That it is the Spirit who gives life and that His words are Spirit, and they are life. For, Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and conversely who did believe on Him and He restated that no one could come to Him unless it is granted by the Father.

My point here is that Christ Jesus says that the Father must draw us to Him but also underlines the fact the belief is crucial to salvation and that the Holy Spirit is how believers receive life. This mention of the function of the Holy Spirit in relation to giving life connects the process of election to the process of salvation.

Jesus relates that process to Nicodemus in John chapter three verses five through eight “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus elaborates in John chapter three verses sixteen and seventeen “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Ephesians chapter one verse thirteen puts it like this “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”

So, to conclude by restating my hypothesis. To focus on the process of election in exclusion to the process of salvation causes a massive distortion in how the scriptures relating to each process are interpreted. The result being the Calvinist versus Arminian debate of the last several centuries. If you understand the believing on Christ Jesus is catalyst for either process and that God credits your belief to you as faith, then the scriptures relating these processes become unified and the debate is settled.