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.

Standing Fast for Jesus

 

We had a thought provoking sermon at Church this morning. It was about the apostle Peter and his denial of ever having known Jesus. You can see where this sermon was going right? As Christians go, we are all equal and none of us is going to be any better than the apostle Peter when facing the same circumstances that he faced at the time of Jesus arrest.

 

The gauntlet was well and truly laid down for the parishioners to take up the challenge to make a genuine visible stand for Christ Jesus in their daily lives. Furthermore, we were challenged about our sin and the need to repent and be holy. This would be a lot for a young believer to take on as, so often, we confront them about repentance and standing up for the gospel and end up causing them to question whether they are actually saved.

 

As a mature Christian though I find it a timely reminder that I need to review my witness and my visibility as a servant of Jesus Christ. What do people see when they look at me as I live my life and do I hide in the background of life or am I a vibrant credible engager of the non Christian folk in our society?

 

Honestly, I find life a real struggle. I am not the confident competent sought. I prefer to blend in so being a key board warrior suits me. I wouldn't say boo to a mouse if I had my way. In fact, I would be happy to keep a low profile and slip through life and quietly shut the gate at the end. No fuss.

 

However, the Holy Spirit often reminds me of the requirement to get the gospel out there and to obey the great commission of Matthew 28 verses 18 - 20 "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. NKJV

 

So, I do as so many other Christians do and at the behest of my valiant Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I struggle on in my endeavour to represent Him to those around me. I find myself to be weak and lacking but I am assured by Him that He loves to use the weak as the instruments of His work and that His strength is perfected in my weakness. 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  NKJV

 

I pray that He makes me as brave and bold as a lion because I feel as weak and ineffective as a mouse. A coward rather than a warrior for God but I know that His work in me is ongoing until I stand resurrected in the Kingdom of God and I am finally perfected and complete. He will gradually reshape me into that brave warrior and protector of the gospel.

 

We live in a world that needs salvation. A world that needs Jesus Christ. An insane world that needs the love, compassion and sanity of the living God. If only we could convince mankind the Jesus is the way, the Truth and that He is the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Jesus Christ.

 

Come Lord Jesus.

The Door of the Sheep

 

 

John 10: 7-9 “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life and have it abundantly.” 

Jesus Christ is the door. Jesus is the gate. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life. No one comes to the Father but through Jesus the Son. He is the narrow gate and narrow is the way that leads to life (Matthew 7: 13 – 14). 

Isaiah 59:2 “But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Sin separates us from God and the only way that that sin can be atoned for is by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. His blood shed for you and me at Calvary that we might believe on Him and not perish but inherit eternal life (John 3:16). 

Enter by the narrow gate, for narrow is the way and broad is the road that leads to destruction. Believe that God so loved you that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that when you believe on Him you will not perish but have eternal life. 

So, hear me when I say to you “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 2:38). “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved,” (Acts 4:12). 

Jesus is coming soon.

Does the Enemy Know Who You Are?

 

So, you are a Christian. You have a cell phone, a tablet, a laptop, a TV connected to Broadband, or you fastidiously have none of the above. This to protect you from Big Brother. Well, if you live in the Western World or even if you live in one of the more technically advanced areas of the East then Big Brother already knows who you are.  

Even in NZ, Police may have access to CCTV footage from your town, or you may have been photographed by speed or toll cameras. The Chinese Government are said to be very good at hacking the CCTV systems in other countries to gather data about their own citizens and even you and me.  

We live in a digital age my friends and if you think not having digital devices, or even bank cards, can keep your information safe from prying eyes then I am afraid you are laboring under a misapprehension. Big Brother knows a whole lot about you and if he really wants to get in touch personally then there is probably very little you can do to stop him. 

However, if you wanted to evade the authorities as people do who appear on the television show ‘Hunted.’ The contestants show that while is very difficult to avoid being detained when the police are after you it is possible if you keep a very low profile to evade capture for several days. I suspect that if you had a network in place and used burner phones and cash or gift cards as a line of credit, it might be possible to successfully flee capture and hide at least in the medium term. Changing your appearance by dying your hair and using makeup to change your skin tone might increase your chances of avoiding recognition as well. 

For me as a Christian, the question is why I would bother to avoid Big Brother. Surely, if Big Brother is watching me, he is only seeing my witness as a Christian and that I present very little threat to anyone. That I am a peaceful person seeking only to be helpful to those around me and that I share Christ with the lost but that I hardly force them to listen to me. 

I understand that the secularists hate Christ and would like nothing better than to destroy Christians and Christianity. That has always been the case though and many of the Reformers like Huss and Wycliffe died for nothing other than being bible believers and servants of Christ Jesus.  

As much as I fear being persecuted for my beliefs myself, I do not fear the State being able to study me or using the data they have acquired about me to apprehend me. The book of Revelation speaks of a time when people will be given the choice renounce Jesus Christ or die for Him. It seems that millions of people will die for Christ and will cry out to the Lord for vengeance against those who persecuted and killed them (Revelation 6:9-11). 

Finally, I think that my faith gives me peace of mind about the world in which I live. I am a Christian and so I believe that nothing can separate me from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39). I will walk in the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil (Psalm 23:4). Come Lord Jesus.

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The Christian World View

 

One Christian world view is called Dominionism. In this world view the Church continues to strive against the world and to win converts to Christianity until the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. It holds that at some point in the future the Church will finally be successful at winning everyone to Christianity and then Jesus will return immediately to reign.

 

This is a popular Christian world view because it encompasses the Church Age to date and appeals to younger Christians who are raising their families. Jesus is not going to suddenly return in this world view so there is a certain guarantee that there will be time to see your children grow up and for you to live your life. May not so great a guarantee if you live in an unstable region of the world but I guess you know that the Church will always be there.

 

Another world view is called Dispensationalism. It is kind of the opposite of Dominionism in that it holds that the Bible describes in certain scriptures prophecies about when certain events will happen that will precede the return of Jesus Christ and also has different outcomes upon the return of Jesus. There is a belief that when Christ Jesus returns he will establish a kingdom that will last for one thousand years at the end of which will be a judgement and then a new Heavens and a new Earth and an eternal Kingdom of God.

 

These world views help us to understand what the bible says about the future but they are not the most important thing. The most important thing is understand the sin or unrighteousness separates us from God. However, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but inherit eternal life.

 

This is the most important world view and is characterised in the verse Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."

One Man's Truth…

 

I was reading a Facebook Meme the other day which complained that the Bible stated that Methuselah lived for 969 years. I think the feed stated another number but 969 is what the Bible actually states. It also stated that this was false because we know that there are numerous genetic factors that would make it impossible for a man to live to 969 years.

 

Of course the gist of the meme was how could Christians believe this nonsense. I guess it all comes back to what you believe and your background. I mean the biggest challenge we face in this life is death and the human body would seem to be susceptible to any number of maladies that can lead to death. Not the least of these being, that humanity seems to be prewired to cease life somewhere around seventy years of age which is also the limit of human life as defined by God in the Bible.

 

This all happens because of the shortening of telomeres in our cells telling our DNA to stop dividing, exposure to solar radiation, aging in certain cells and any number of other physiological factors. The most pertinent factor is, however, that Jehovah said that the end of our variant of humanities life would be in the range of seventy to eighty years. So what of Methuselah.
 

Well, Methuselah lived before the flood when the Earth was a hot house world covered in the original forest that God had created. Everything was new, Mankind had fallen but was genetically in excellent condition. God allowed those who close to Him to live for a very long time. Jehovah, reduced the length of human life to reduce the exposure of the world to sin. Wicked men with long lives could inflict much harm on those around them whereas, with shorter lives that harm was limited. Imagine the mayhem unleashed if some of the Kings of Earth had lived for a thousand years.

 

So where does all of this leave us? Well, the person who wrote the meme believes that science has shown beyond dispute that for various physiological reasons no man can live to the age of 969 years. This is his belief and he has faith in the science behind it. I deduce that his faith is naturalistic and he or she is an atheist. This is a world view, a faith. They would contend that if something cannot be proven by science or if the science can be said to disprove it then it is not true. This is a simplistic notion. There is much even on Earth that we cannot know because we don't have the means to genuinely evaluate the facts before us. Whether that is because we were not there when something first formed or because we don't have a method that we can investigate the truth of some matter with. Therefore we are limited to theorising an answer to our investigation.

 

In the case of Methuselah's age we can say based on what we know today he could not have lived to 969 years but what if tomorrow a scientist came up with the keys to the tree of life. A potion that causes our body to begin rebuilding itself in the way that it did when we were first conceived. Would our atheist friend believe that mankind could now be immortal because science has found a way for Methuselah to live to a great age? Of course, the answer is yes because science can demonstrate that immortality is now possible.

 

So, really the issue is that the writer of the meme believes in science but does not believe in God. He or she, has faith in science but does not have faith in Jehovah God. Therefore, truth is a matter of perception not a matter of fact. You see, you can believe in science and only believe what can be proven in the laboratory or you can believe in God and every word that comes from the mouth of God. What matters in the end is Truth and most unbelieving folk know in their hearts the God created the Heavens and the Earth. They just don't want admit it.

 

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ESV

 

From <https://www.openbible.info/topics/unbeliever>

Saved Sinner – That’s Me.

 

If you read my Facebook page you might surmise that because of my posts. I must be a good person. I can tell you that I am a Christian and that the Holy Spirit indwells me. I am justified by Christ Jesus taking my sins on Himself on the Cross and the sin debt I owe is paid by His shed blood in my stead.

I accessed that forgiveness of my sins by believing on Christ Jesus (John 3:16). That I might not perish but inherit eternal life. Then because I repented and was baptised, I received forgiveness for my sins and the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The work of the Holy Spirit during my life time is to sanctify me and make me a vessel of the living God, to make me holy and a temple of the Living God.

So am I really a good person? I’m better that I was when I first believed but I am still a human being. I have be saved in Jesus Christ in every way that matters but I am not perfect and I believe I will not be perfect this side of glory. This side of the resurrection unto eternal life.

Does this apply to all Christians? Personally, my experience is that there are some Christians who live a more pure life than others. We are all different and experience the revelation of God in ourselves at different rates. Some like myself struggle to pull away from the world and its influence while others grow closer to God more rapidly. They are faster to lead a repentant life that is along the lines laid out in the Bible. The point is as I mentioned earlier we are all different.

There is no one size fits all in Christianity. Some people become legalistic and judgemental at some stage in their Christian walk. They can be intolerant toward those who don’t believe and feel justified in preaching aggressively to them. They might harangue people with the gospel, thinking to force them to believe. The problem is that their is no love in that type of evangelism. It drives more people away than it reaches.

Just as there are the hardline fundamentalists there are those who are more inclusive and who are careful to love God with all of their hearts, all of their souls, all of their minds and all of their strength. It is important to place God first, to worship Him before all else and this leads to a more stable and loving form of relationship with God. In this style of Christianity it is important to love your neighbour as you love yourself which once again includes love for everyone equally.

The fact is that all Christians are people and all people are fallen. Christians are simply in the process of being restored into a holistic spiritual relationship with the Creator as Adam and Eve were before they disobeyed God and fell. We won’t be fully restored until we finish this life and are resurrected into the Kingdom of God.

So try not be too hard on the Christians you know. They are striving to assimilate all that the Holy Spirit is revealing in them and the knowledge that they are gaining from God’s word as they grow in faith and in God’s Grace. This leads them along different paths and results in learning experiences which will wear off the rough edges over time but at different rates.

If you read the gospels and focus on what Jesus had to say and how He treated those He interacted with. You will find that when He spoke to the authorities He was very direct and didn’t mince words. However, when he spoke to individuals he was mostly very loving, very patient, very kind and very gentle and when the situation called for it very merciful. He demonstrated to those he helped that He cared very deeply about their lives and the situations in which they found themselves. This is how Christians should act as well.

Christians are just people too.