There is much
debate as to whether the Bible teaches free will or election. The
two well known camps are Calvinism and Arminianism. Below is a brief
synopsis of each belief.
John Calvin was
the author of the five principles that have come to be known as
Calvinism. Those principles are in short:
Total depravity –
says that because all men are born into sin, they are unable to
choose to follow God, but can only follow their sin nature. This
teaches that men are virtually dead and that since a dead man cannot
make any choice, we cannot choose God. To do so would mean that we
have some part in our salvation. There is no free will.
Unconditional
election - says that God has chosen from eternity those whom He will
save. His choice is not based on anything having to do with the
people themselves, but just a choice He makes to save some and
deliver others to perdition.
Limited atonement
– says Christ only died for the elect, not for everyone. The sins
of the wicked are not covered by Christ's atonement.
Irresistible grace
– says that God's grace is applied to those whom He has elected,
and therefore they have no ability to resist God's call and must be
saved. They have no choice in the matter.
Perseverance of
the saints – says that the elect cannot fall away from God. If a
person appears to fall away, then they were not saved to begin with.
This is also known as eternal security.
Along with these
five principles is the idea of what predestination is. Under
Calvinism, predestination simply means that after God chose whom He
would elect, He then predestined them to be saved.
Classical
Arminianism is quite different from Calvinism, in fact almost the
opposite. Jacobus Arminius was the author of the principles of
classical Arminianism. Classical Arminianism has the following
principles:
Total depravity –
says that man's free will is useless unless assisted by grace. It
has no powers of its own without God's grace to choose God.
Unlimited Atonement - says atonement
was made for everyone's sin. All people have the opportunity for
salvation, however atonement is not applied where faith is not
effected.
Grace is resistible – says that God
initiates the salvation process by offering grace to all (called
prevenient - meaning preceding - grace), and revealing the truth of
the gospel through the Holy Spirit to draw them to himself, thereby
enabling them the possibility of making a free will choice for faith,
unless they resist the draw of the Holy Spirit. Until man is drawn
and enabled, he is only able to resist. This allows for a free will
decision although the grace and faith is proffered by God beforehand
to allow them to make a free will choice to accept or resist.
Free will – says man's free will is
limited by God's sovereignty, (in other words if God does not offer
grace and faith, man has no power to either accept or resist
salvation as he is totally depraved. However God's sovereignty
allows man to exercise his free will to accept or resist by giving
prevenient grace.
Election – says election is
conditional. In other words, the conditions to become elect is that
one will accept God's offer and believe in Jesus through faith.
Predestination – says God has not
predetermined who will believe, but what their inheritance will be.
In other words, knowing that when grace and faith is preveniently
extended so that they have the ability to make a free will decision
to accept or resist the call of God, He predestines them to salvation
and the life (mortal and eternal) that they will have as a believer.
Justification – is sola fide. (by
faith alone) [Note that justification is not the same as salvation.
Justification means that Christ's blood is covering one's sins.
Salvation is achieved when one has died in the Lord without having
shipwrecked their faith, so that Christ's blood is still being
applied.] When people repent and believe in Christ, they are
regenerated and brought into union with Christ having Christ's
righteousness imputed to them.
Eternal security – is conditional.
Believers have assurance of salvation as long as they abide and
remain in Christ. Salvation requires perseverance. Resistance to God
is possible at any time due to free will choice. Deliberate apostasy
and willful rejection and renunciation of faith to the point of
unbelief is possible. Such renunciation is irremediable. [Some
people like to say that Arminianism teaches that if you sin, you lose
your salvation and you have to constantly be born again. That is not
what it teaches, as the belief is that you have to renounce your
faith and become an unbeliever to lose your justification, and when
that occurs, there is no more justification left for that individual,
therefore there will be no salvation.]
So these are the two beliefs. Now what
we need to do is see what the Bible says, and then see which one fits
the Scriptures.
To
start, let us address a few foundational truths that affect these
beliefs. The first is the one and only unpardonable sin that keeps
people out of heaven. This is the sin of blaspheming the Holy
Spirit. Many people wonder what this sin is, because it is the only
unforgivable sin that exists. Some people, and even some Christians,
wonder if they have committed this sin, as nobody seems to understand
exactly what it is. Let us see if we can figure out what this sin
must be from the consequences. The result of committing this sin is
that you cannot be forgiven by God for this sin. It is a sin that
sends people to hell with no hope of pardon. So what is the sin that
sends people to hell? Why do so many people end up there? Any
Christian will tell you that what ultimately sends a person to hell
is not being a liar, or cheater, or fornicator, as all of these sins
can be forgiven. What ultimately sends people to hell is rejecting
the Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua, as their Savior. It is a rejection of
the entire gospel message of repentance, belief, and faith in Yeshua
as the Son of God who gave His life as a ransom for our souls.
Refusing to believe in Yeshua is a sin that cannot be forgiven, as it
is His blood that gains us access to eternal life. There is no other
way. John 14:6 “Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
So if rejecting
Christ is not forgivable and sends people to hell, why is this
not the unpardonable sin as there is only one unpardonable sin?
Actually it is. The Holy Spirit is the one who extends to us the
knowledge of who Yeshua is, extends God's grace and faith so we have
the ability to believe, and draws us to salvation. When the Holy
Spirit does this, if you reject His revelation, in that moment you
are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. So the only way the Holy Spirit can
be blasphemed is by rejecting Him when He reveals the truth about
Yeshua. Can it be seen that as there is only one unpardonable sin,
and as both of these things qualify as being unforgivable, that
these two things must be one in the same? It is a matter of simple
logical deduction. If A = C and B = C, then A must = B. Rejecting
Christ as Savior (A) is unpardonable (C), as it is the only way to
salvation. You cannot be forgiven for refusing to accept Yeshua.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit (B) is unpardonable (C). You cannot be
forgiven for blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Therefore rejecting Yeshua
as Savior (A) must be the same as blaspheming the Holy Spirit (B).
If this is true, it can only lead to one conclusion. 1) That the
Holy Spirit does give us prevenient grace to understand who Yeshua
is, and extends the ability to have faith to accept that truth, and
2) we can reject that, and in so doing, blaspheme the Holy Spirit,
hence we make a free will decision and it is not a matter of
irresistible grace, otherwise we could not reject that revelation and
blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
The second thing
that must be acknowledged is whether or not God created man with free
will. If mankind was created with free will, then man still has free
will, as God did not remake man after he sinned. So the question
becomes, did God originally give man free will? We only need to look
at Adam and Eve to get our answer to that. Adam and Eve were created
in perfection. God gave them a choice. A free will
choice. That free will
choice was – Are you going to obey God? They were not forced into
choosing to sin by God, because He had already decided that He wanted
man to be sinful and have to be redeemed, and their choice was
irresistible. That is what Calvinism would demand in reverse.
Irresistible grace to do God's will would require that they move from
perfection to sin because God gave them an irresistible call. The
Bible instead says that Eve was deceived and chose to sin. Then Adam
willfully chose to sin. It does not say that he was deceived as Eve
was. They both made a choice. One being tricked into it, and the
other just willfully doing it. Is that not how we end up sinning
today? We either find ourselves sinning because we did not simply
obey, but stretched some of God's commands to suit ourselves and then
found ourselves in the middle of a sin, because were were deceiving
ourselves? Or, we just decide to deliberately do something that we
know is wrong, and do not even bother deceiving ourselves about that
fact.
Adam and Eve represent the two ways we indulge in sin. One by
carelessness and deception and the other by simple willful
disobedience. If we do not believe in free will choice, then we are
not responsible for any of our sins, as God has also ordained that we
commit them, as He must have Adam and Eve under that theory. But
does it make sense that God would deliberately and arbitrarily choose
to destroy His creation by forcing Adam and Eve to sin, and then
elect some to salvation, but then also ordain that they commit sin,
over which they have no control? This would have to be so, as we do
sin, but if that is not a free will choice then God is making us sin.
Is that what the Scriptures teach? Or do the Scriptures teach that
we are to bring our bodies and mind into submission? To do that
requires a deliberate free will choice on our part. So that would
indicate that we have indeed been endowed as our first parents with
the ability to make a free will choice for good or bad.
In fact can we not see that in unbelievers in the world? There are
people in the world who do not profess Christianity, or a
relationship with Christ. Yet they spend their lives doing good for
others without a thought to the sacrifice on their own part. Yet
Calvin and Arminius both say that we are totally depraved and unable
to make a moral choice for goodness (or God). Is that what the
evidence shows? No it does not. The evidence says that man can make
a moral choice without being a Christian. But how is that possible
as man is inherently evil and has no good in him? I think there is
more to man than we acknowledge.
God
said that He created man in His image. But what is His image? God
is a triune being – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If
God is triune in His being, is it not necessary for man to also be a
triune being if we are in His image? Christianity acknowledges the
physical body, and the eternal spirit which is either dead in sins,
or alive in Yeshua. But there is a third part of man, that part that
is our intelligence and will. Degenerate man can, through his
intelligence and will choose to do good in spite of the fact that he
is spiritually dead in sin. But is anything that man does that is
good ever going to be enough to gain him entry into heaven? No, of
course not. One would have to keep the Law perfectly and nobody can.
Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one.”
Romans 3:23 “For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God.”
No matter how much good an unregenerate person or regenerate person
for that matter may do, he is still unable to save himself. Only
belief in Yeshua will save us. He was the only one who could keep
the Law perfectly and the only one who could satisfy justice for sin
on our behalf. So when it is said that nobody would ever choose God,
is that actually correct? We should not confuse our spirit – dead
or alive - with our intellect and will.
Non-Christian people do choose to do good. Is it not possible for us
to want to choose God intellectually using our will, if anyone can
choose to be obedient and do good without being regenerate? If it
were not possible to do this, could we ever expect our children to
obey us before they accept the Lord? Obviously it must be possible
to choose while still unregenerate, both to be obedient and to do
good. So if we want to choose God, doesn't that mean we have a part
in our own salvation? Tell me this, where do we get grace? Where do
we get faith? Where do we get belief? The Scriptures tell us that
all of those things are given to us by God. So just wanting to
choose God will get us nothing. We have not done a thing to get our
salvation. We can want it all we want (wanting is not the same as
doing) and that still will not get us anything, because we cannot do
anything to get it. Without God extending those things to us, we
cannot gain salvation. We are totally dependent upon Him, even if we
choose to want Him, so no matter what, we still have no part in our
salvation. We cannot build that bridge between ourselves and God, nor
can we even climb onto that bridge of our own accord. We can at
best, merely wish to get on it. God must reach out and grab our hand
and pull us onto that bridge that Yeshua built. He does that through
the Holy Spirit who calls and draws us up onto that bridge.
A scenario that is not a perfect metaphor, but close, is if it were
thought of as teams being chosen for a game. The team has a captain
who chooses who will be on the team. People are lined up and some may
want to be on the captain's team and some don't. The captain may wish
he could have everyone on his team, but not everyone may want to be
on it. The ones who do may indicate their desire to be on that team,
but unless the captain calls their name, they do not get chosen to be
on the team. A captain wants people who want to be on his team with
him, as they will play hard for the team. So he calls their name. He
may also call the names of people who do not want to be on his team,
and they may refuse to join his team saying that they want to play
for the other side. In this case, the captain is not going to force
someone to join his team. But none of the people did anything to get
on the team. Both had an equal chance. So does the Holy Spirit do
this just for those who wish to know God, (the elect) or does He do
it for everyone?
The
Bible says in John 3:16 “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.
For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth
cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they
are wrought in God.
”
Note
what the above verse really says. If Yeshua died for everyone, so
that anyone
can believe who wants to, does that not mean that this gift is
offered to everyone at some point? If it were not offered to
everyone, and only to those who would believe, does that not then
make this verse a lie and the unpardonable sin non-existent? This
sin cannot exist if someone is not committing it. It is only
committed when people reject the Holy Spirit's revelation and call.
But is an intellectual rejection (rejecting God before being called
by the Holy Spirit) enough to satisfy God's just nature? Is an
intellectual rejection actually blaspheming the Holy Spirit, if He
has never interacted with them? How can they be said to blaspheme
Him, if He has never offered grace to them and revealed Christ? So
the question becomes, is prevenient grace and revelation offered to
them in order for them to be able to blaspheme the Holy Spirit by
rejecting Yeshua on an eternal spiritual basis? I believe that it
must be, for the Holy Spirit to be blasphemed. If it were merely an
intellectual rejection, then they would not be blaspheming the Holy
Spirit, as the Holy Spirit would not have offered grace and revealed
Christ to them. God sends them to hell for the unpardonable sin, but
they cannot commit it if the Holy Spirit has not had a part in the
action.
The
passage also says that those who “doeth truth cometh to the light”.
How can we possibly do truth before we are saved, if we are totally
depraved and unable to make a moral choice? And yet it says that
those who do truth come
to
the light, not already have it. So it seems that our intellectual
free will has the ability to want to do truth, however with our
sinful nature we are unable to do anything toward obtaining salvation
ourselves, even if we want it. It demands that God do it all for us.
It
would seem then that there is a combination of things going on. For
those who are, through foreknowledge, predestined to be elect, God
knew in advance when a person would make the choice to accept Him
when offered the prevenient grace to be able to make that choice. He
chooses a time in a person's life to send the Holy Spirit to call
them. The Bible says in Matthew 22:14 “For many
are called, but few are chosen.” Notice that not
all who are called accept God's call. This verse alone negates
Calvinism's premise that only the elect are called. God calls many or
all, as this verse says, or extends grace to all to be able to
believe, however the chosen are those who accept that call, so He
chooses to make them His elect and extend the possibility for us to
make that calling sure by continuing to bestow grace and faith. We
are given the Holy Spirit to indwell us. Without God continuing to
extend grace and faith and giving us the Holy Spirit, we would be the
same as the unregenerate. It is this which separates us from
unbelievers who reject God's offer.
He extends prevenient grace to all so that we have the ability to
have faith and believe, but not all do. We get the grace before we
have faith and believe, as we cannot get faith and believe without
it, therefore it is prevenient. Then God continues to extend it to
us throughout life when we accept Him. None of this is of our own
work or doing. As said before, we can wish all we want to be on God's
team, but without God doing it all and choosing us, we obtain
nothing. Therefore we still have no part in creating the salvation
we are given.
As
the verse above says, even for those who never seem to have an
interest in God, I believe before that person dies, the Holy Spirit
still shows them the truth. But doesn't being called mean we are
elect? No, may are called,
but few are chosen.
We are predestined to election because God foreknew our choice and
predestined us to be called and justified, then conformed to His
image. To be perfectly fair so that on Judgment Day God can say to
all that they had a choice, God has the Holy Spirit reveal or call
them to the truth, or He would cease to be just. However, knowing it
will be rejected and the Holy Spirit blasphemed, they are not
predestined to be chosen to election. I have heard stories of people
who have been given the gospel message, then declared that they would
never choose to believe it, who were killed moments later. That is
why it is so important for us to spread the gospel and tell people.
They need to hear the truth, as it is in hearing it that we give the
Holy Spirit the opportunity to reveal the truth of the message, for
we do not know who has been called to election.
As
Christians we all know that when we witness, some of us plow up the
ground, some plant the seed, some water, but it is the Holy Spirit
who chooses the time in a person's life to make the call to which
that person must then respond. As the Bible says in Romans 10:13-17
“For whosoever
shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed?
and how
shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard?
and how
shall they hear
without a preacher? And how shall they preach,
except they be sent?
as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But
they have not all obeyed the gospel.
For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith
cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.”
Notice that it says that we will call
on the Lord. We do have a part to carry out, even though we have no
part in God's actions of offering salvation. This also confirms that
all are offered the truth of salvation. It says that “They have
not all obeyed the gospel.” In other words, some reject it and
blaspheme the Holy Spirit, but they still have it revealed to them.
But notice the order of events. For someone to come to salvation,
they must first hear the gospel (that is our job), then they must
believe (this is the Holy Spirit's job) and call on the Lord (that is
their job).
But
what about those who have never heard? God has told us that He will
take care of justice Himself in those cases. Romans 2:12-16 “For
as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and
as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For
not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the
law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles,
which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves: Which shew
the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness,
and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one
another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by
Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”
We however have been given the commission and responsibility to make
sure that all men hear, so that the Holy Spirit can call.
So given the information above, we can now look at Calvin's and
Arminius's principles to see which ones are true.
Both
believe in total depravity. This is true in that man cannot save
himself and can do no good towards that end. Is that completely true
that we are incapable of moral behavior without renegeration?
Mankind is all sinful. That is true. Our spiritual nature is dead,
and our body is corrupt. Our intellect is also sinful, but it has
the ability to make free will choices, and sometimes those choices
are for good. This seems to be a part of us that both of these men
ignore. Arminius says that after prevenient grace is extended man
can make a free will choice, but until that point man can do
nothing good. As said before, the evidence would say otherwise, and
even the Scriptures say that those who doeth truth
come
to the light. We are capable of moral behavior apart from being
saved. However that counts for nothing toward salvation. God must
offer us grace and faith for us to accept His call.
Is
atonement limited or unlimited? What does the Bible say? The Bible
says that Christ died for everyone's sins, not just the sins of a
few. Anyone, whosoever will, and please notice the word “will”
may come. This verse is telling us that we have a will that can
decide which choice to make. If anyone, whosoever wants to, may
come, the atonement must be unlimited, otherwise Christ did not die
for the sins of the world, as the Scriptures say.
Does
God elect us arbitrarily, or does he elect us based on foreknowledge
of what we will choose when prevenient grace is offered and faith and
belief are extended to us? What does the Bible say? Romans 8:29-30
“For whom
he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover whom he did
predestinate, them he
also called: and whom
he called, them he also justified:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
1 Peter 1:2a “Elect
according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father.....”
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
We have grace and faith given by God, but election is by
foreknowledge of the choice we make when offered that grace and
faith.
Is grace irresistible or do we have a
free will choice? A person cannot be guilty of the unpardonable sin,
if they have not been given a chance to commit the sin. I know that
people who believe in irresistible grace and election say that it is
fair for God to do this, but God is not unjust and this is incredibly
unjust if they are judged guilty of committing the unpardonable sin,
when in fact they have not. God is fair and just. That is simply His
character. To release yourself of all accountability by choosing
(which ironically is a free will choice) to believe you have no
choice is not what the Bible teaches. It teaches us that we have to
choose all through life. If we are not choosing, then our sins do
not need repentance, as we are not accountable for them, right? But
that is not what we are told. We are told that we must repent and
abide in Christ and keep His commandments if we love Him. If we have
no choice, then should not all Christians be living completely
sinless lives, being elect? Are they? Do you know one Christian
that is completely sin free? I don't. And if you say you are, or
someone you know says they are sinless, then both of you are liars,
which makes both of you sinners. You choose out of your free will
every day to be obedient or disobedient to God. If you are making
that choice, then why say that man does not have free will in all
choices? Our first parents did, and so do we.
Do we have eternal security regardless
of what we do as long as we are elect, or can we choose to walk away
from God and quit believing after having accepted His Son as our
Savior? Do we have free will? What does the Bible say? Hebrews
6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who
were once enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the
Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of
God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew
them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
How can people read these verses and not understand them? What do
they say? They say that it is impossible
to renew the repentance of
those who fall away. Fall
away from what? From having once been enlightened,
tasted the heavenly gift, been a partaker of the Holy Ghost, tasted
the word of God, and the powers of the kingdom of God. These
things only occur to someone who has accepted Yeshua as their Savior.
It does not happen to unbelievers. Unbelievers cannot partake
of the Holy Spirit anymore than someone can partake of a meal unless
they actually eat it. The only way to partake of the Holy Spirit is
to be indwelt by Him. Notice that they can fall away, but it is
impossible to renew them to repentance again. This falling away is
speaking of one that is equivalent to blaspheming the Holy Spirit,
not simply committing a sin. Added to this is the fact that is says that they cannot renew their repentance. You can only renew something if you have had it before. If they had not had justification applied to their lives, it would not be talking about renewing it again. It would be the first time, not the second.
Hebrews
10:26-31 “For if we sin wilfully
(note the free will choice to
sin) after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But
a certain fearful looking for of
judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under
two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he
was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done
despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that
hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the
Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Notice the words in bold print. If we sin how? If we sin willfully.
That denotes a choice of our free will. When is this choice made?
After
we have what? After we have received
the knowledge of truth.
This does not just mean intellectually receiving it. This is talking
about having accepted Christ into our hearts. How can we be sure of
that? Because it says how much greater will the punishment be for
those who trod under foot the Son of God and have counted unholy the
blood by which he was what? By which he was sanctified.
One is only sanctified when one accepts Yeshua as their Savior and
is set apart by God as one of His own. There is no other way of
reading this. Does this mean that if we deliberately sin all is
lost? We will all sin, sometimes willfully, but this is much more
than that. This is a complete rejection of the blood of Christ and
considering it a worthless thing. It is blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
We
may sin, but most of us feel remorse and guilt and repent of that
sin. We can be forgiven for sinning against Yeshua, Luke 12:10 “And
whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it
shall not be forgiven.”
So even though as Christians we should not willfully sin, we
sometimes do. Fortunately God is faithful to forgive us our sins. We
do not throw the baby out with the bathwater and reject Christ's
sacrifice or stop believing in it, because we have committed a sin.
In fact we cling all the more to the promise of forgiveness, knowing
how unworthy we are to receive it. This verse is talking about those
who willfully walk away from Christ and reject Him totally to the
point of unbelief, not those who commit a sin, whether by deception
or intent. If that were the case, then why tell us in 1 John 1:8-10
“If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have
not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
We are sinners trapped in a sinful body and will be at war with
ourselves all our lives to try to be obedient to God and turn from
sin, however we will all sin from time to time in spite of our best
efforts. We might be able to control our physical actions, but
capturing every thought, which is also required to be sin free, is
another matter entirely and extremely hard to do. It is that place
where sin originates, inside of us in our hearts and minds before it
ever manifests in our actions.
So
are we eternally secure? Well, as long as we abide in Christ we are.
People who believe in Calvinism and eternal security within that
theology like to quote the following verse to say that it is
impossible to lose your justification. Romans 8:35-39 “Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day
long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We are promised that nothing outside of ourselves has the power to
separate us from Christ as long as we choose
to remain in Him. Nothing and nobody else has that right. However
notice that God does not include us in that list. We
do
have the ability to separate ourselves from Christ by our own free
will choice. Hebrews has taught us that. So eternal security is
available for the Christian, but only if you persevere and remain in
Christ. You can walk away.
Think
about what eternal security as taught by Calvin teaches us. It says
that we do not choose to be saved, we have no choice. So is it
really necessary to witness to people? No. According to Calvinism
it is really unnecessary. If they are elect, they'll be elect no
matter what, as God has chosen them to be. Can they lose their
salvation by anything they do? According to Calvinism, no. They can
backslide and do anything if they are elect, but will be brought back
into the fold in the end no matter how far they may stray, as they
have no choice in the matter as they are elect. If they do not come
back, then it is taught that they weren't elect to begin with. So
all accountability is completely removed. So where is the incentive
to live a holy life of obedience to God? There isn't one. If I
believed in election, it would not matter how I live my life, because
if I am elect, I do not need to worry, as no matter how far I stray,
in the end I will be okay. And if I am not elect and striving to live
a life for Christ, it is useless, as no matter what I do, I can never
make it.
This
brings up some problems with the theory. First, if only the elect
can be called and accept Christ, as all are depraved and cannot
choose the path of righteousness, why are there people in churches
pursuing a Christian life that are not part of the elect? And there
are people like this in all churches. If one goes with the idea that
if they eventually fall away they were never saved to begin with, it
indicates that in their unregenerate state they were striving to be
obedient to God for a while, which means they made a free will choice
to choose God at some point, but that God has chosen to reject them.
The question becomes, how can they in their unregenerate state choose
God or try to live a life for God, if they are dead in sins and can
only choose evil as Calvinism says? Why would they choose God if
they are not elect? The theory does not work, as it is in conflict
with itself. They are doing the opposite of what is said they are
even able to do, and that is choosing God without being elect. Would
God ever reject someone who really wants to know Him and live a life
for Him? Is that not what this is teaching? That people want God,
try to choose to live for God, but as they are not elect, He rejects
them and consequently they fall away, as they are not elect. Think
about it. This is exactly what this is teaching. This goes against
what God has said, as He told us that it is His will
that all be saved. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 “For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.”
If it is God's will
that all be saved, then will not all men be saved? God would have
everyone be saved, but not everyone wants to be saved. Therefore God
is allowing us to choose, otherwise we would all be saved as that is
His will. It is only in allowing us free will that His will is not
fulfilled.
The
second problem is if people are truly elect by irresistible grace and
not free will, would that irresistible grace not extend to their
decisions to sin or not sin, especially after God has given them
grace, faith, and indwelt them with the Holy Spirit? How can they
continue to commit any sins, if there is no free will? Why would God
make them commit sins, if they are His elect and destined to
salvation against any inclination of their own? Would He not also
then make any inclination to sin disappear so that they would not
stray? It simply does not make any sense to say that man has no
choice or free will in the matter. We obviously do.
It
is a comforting thought in a way to think that if we accept Yeshua as
our Savior that we are all set and do not have to worry, but that is
not the case. Even if one believes in Calvinism, it is not the case,
as how do you know whether or not you are fooling yourself about
being elect? Suppose you are one of the ones to whom the following
occurs.
Matthew
7:21-23 “Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is
in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in
thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
How is it that people convince themselves that they are Christians,
but Jesus says that He never knew them? How is this scenario
possible, if Calvinism's premise that man is totally depraved and
cannot choose God apart from being elect, is true? This verse tells us that
many will be terribly surprised in that day, having actually done
things such as casting out devils and doing wonderful works in Jesus' name. They
truly believe they belong to God and are one of his children. Does
it not scare even a Calvinist that their salvation is not eternally
secure because they cannot know if they are elect or not?
There are several parables that Yeshua told that if we are willing to
take them at face value instead of warping them to fit our
preconceived theories, tell us that salvation is a choice, and a
matter of perseverance.
Mark
4:2-20 “And he taught them many things by
parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there
went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell
by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and
immediately it sprang up, because it
had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was
scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it,
and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground,
and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased;
and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And
when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of
him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without,
all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and
not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at
any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven
them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then
will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are
they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they
have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that
was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise
which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard
the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in
themselves, and so endure but for a time:
afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth
for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as
hear the word, And the cares of this world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of
other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good
ground; such as hear the word, and receive
it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty,
and some an hundred.”
Let us take a good look at this parable
without putting a twist on it. What exactly does it say. It says
that the seed was sown on four hearts. In other words, the Holy
Spirit delivered it to every person. This goes along exactly with
what was taught earlier, that the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to
every individual. In the case of the first heart, Satan takes it
right back out of their hearts. They choose to let him do that, as
they do not want it. But notice that it was sown in their hearts.
And how was it sown? By hearing the word. This again is exactly what
was earlier said that the Scriptures teach. Faith comes by hearing.
The second seed is sown in a heart
which receives it with joy initially, but there is no depth to the
person to really apply it to their lives. When it becomes difficult
rather than a bouquet of roses, they walk away. This is what Hebrews
talks about in abandoning the faith to go back to unbelief. The
third seed is choked out because of not only the difficulty of life,
but the call of the world and the lusts to embrace the world become
too strong to resist. This is probably what brings down more
Christians than anything else. Worldliness in this day and age is a
hard thing to resist. I know that I struggle daily with desires and
lusts. Because of worldliness, this group becomes unfruitful. They
are not bearing fruits of the spirit, they are bearing fruits of
worldliness. Look at how the “Name It and Claim It” group lead
people astray because they expect a life of a Laodicean - “I am
rich and have need of nothing.” But what does God say about the
Laodicean? That He wants to spew them out of His mouth and that they
have shut Him outside of the church, so that He is at the door
knocking to come in. Many people think that verse refers to Christ
knocking at the hearts of unbelievers to come in and be saved, but it
is not. Yeshua is knocking at the door of the church asking to be let
back in. (Revelation 3:14-22)
The fourth seed falls on ground that
receives it and brings forth much fruit. What are the fruits of the
Spirit? Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.” What else has God
told us about bringing forth fruit? John 15:1-10 “I am the true
vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that
beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and
I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye
are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and
men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath
loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” Anyone who is
in the vine (and notice that you cannot be in the vine unless you
accept Christ as your Savior and are justified by His blood), and is
not abiding in Yeshua and bringing forth fruit, he will wither and be
lopped off as a dead branch. Then he is thrown into the fire. The
fire spoken of here is the eternal flames of hell. If you abide in
Christ, and keep His commandments, you will stay in Him and bear
fruit.
This is further illustrated in another
parable in Matthew 25:14-30 “For the kingdom of heaven is as a
man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and
delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to
another two, and to another one; to every man according to his
several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had
received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made
them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he
also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged
in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord
of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had
received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying,
Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained
beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done,
thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the
joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and
said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have
gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well
done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the
joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and
said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was
afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast
that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and
slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and
gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put
my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have
received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him,
and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that
hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that
hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye
the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.”
Notice that all are servants, and all
have been given a number of talents to use for the master, but the
one did nothing with his. What happened to that servant that did not
bring forth fruit? He was cast into outer darkness. And what is
outer darkness? Hell. The servant of the master was cast into hell
for not producing fruit.
Then we have the parable of the ten
virgins, which people also want to twist. Matthew 25:1-13 “Then
shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them
were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their
lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold,
the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins
arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise
answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you:
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And
while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward
came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh.”
It is taught by theologians that the
oil in the Bible is a spiritual reference for the Holy Spirit. Well,
if that is true, then all ten of these virgins were Christians as at
the start all of them had their lamps lit. To have them lit meant
that they had to have oil in them. But the bridegroom did not come
right away and everyone fell asleep. The difference was that five
of them had prepared for that wait. They had done the work of
storing up enough oil and taking it along with them for the long
wait. Another way of saying that would be to say that they were
abiding and producing fruit, as they had worked to supply themselves
with enough oil to carry them to the end of the wait. They were
enduring to the end. The others had been negligent about being
diligent in their preparations and consequently in the long wait had
run out of oil or fruit and become a dry vessel. As a consequence,
when the bridegroom finally made his appearance, they had withered on
the vine or had run out of oil, and they were shut out of the
marriage. When they tried to make it up at the last minute, it was
too late. We need to abide throughout life, as we do not know when
the end will come for each of us individually.
This idea of getting idle, or lax, or
worldly and falling away from the Lord while waiting for His return
is also found in Matthew 24:42-51 “Watch therefore: for ye know
not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the
goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he
would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be
broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye
think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give
them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when
he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall
make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant
shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin
to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for
him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him
asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Note that in this parable, the same
problem occurred as with the ten virgins. The Lord (bridegroom)
delayed His coming beyond what the people were expecting. (Take heed
you pre-tribulationists.) The good man watches so that the thief
cannot come unexpectedly upon him. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-8 “For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then
sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not
in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are
not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not
sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For
they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the
hope of salvation.”
Too many people stop after verse three
and ignore what I have put in bold print above. We are not in
darkness that the day should overtake us as a thief. We are to know
(from the signs) and expect His coming and watch and be sober, not
falling into the trap the servant (only Christians are the Lord's
servants) in the above parable did. The Lord did not come when
expected, so he began to join the world and do as they do. And what
was the result? His portion will be with the hypocrites where there
is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And where does that occur? In the
place of outer darkness, which is hell. Matthew 25:30 “And
cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
One more parable to illustrate this is
found in Matthew 22:2-14 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his
servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would
not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them
which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my
fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the
marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his
farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants,
and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king
heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and
destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he
to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden
were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as
ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into
the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both
bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when
the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not
on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou
in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then
said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him
away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Here Yeshua was addressing both Israel
and Christians. First the king, who had arranged a marriage for his
son sent forth his servants (the prophets) to call to those who were
invited to the wedding (Israel). He did this numerous times, sending
forth servants to call them to the wedding, but they treated it
lightly or as a joke and ignored the invitation. They even treated
the servants badly and killed them. (Israel killed their prophets).
When the king heard this, he was angry and destroyed the murderers
(the destruction of the temple and diaspora). Then he sent his
servants (disciples and apostles) to invite anyone they found
(Gentiles). The gospel went out into the world, and both bad and
good responded to the call. But when the time for the wedding comes,
there is a guest without a wedding garment. The guest is asked how
he comes to be there not having on a garment. The guest is
speechless, as he thought accepting the invitation (accepting the
Lord as your Savior) was enough. (This parable reinforces the
statement the Christ made to those who thought they were Christians
when He says, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”) The guest too
late finds out that he was expected to have dressed appropriately.
And what is the wedding garment? Revelation 19:7-8 “Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” The
garment is the fine, clean white linen which is the righteousness of
the saint. How is one counted as righteous? James 5:22 “And the
scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was
imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of
God.”
Now if I were to
simply look at this verse alone without the context, I would say that
the righteousness of the saints was merely believing in God. But we
need to look at the context of that verse, and that verse tell us
more than that.
We are told in James 2:14-26 “What
doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have
not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and
destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in
peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not
those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a
man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith
without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou
believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also
believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith
without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by
works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou
how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made
perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he
was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is
justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the
harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and
had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is
dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
This entire passage tells us that
Abraham was justified by works, because He believed God's promise.
It was this acting out of his belief that made him righteous. Belief
without anything behind it is an empty belief. I can say I believe
all I want, but until it is put to the test, it is an empty
declaration. Our faith is justified by our works, and without those
works, our faith is as a dead thing. It counts for nothing if there
is nothing backing it up. So the righteousness of the saints are
their good works and fruits that give validation to their belief and
faith. When the wedding guest shows up without a wedding garment or
clean, white, linen robe, it shows that he has not been producing
fruit. And what happens to people who do not produce fruit? What
happens to the guest? He is bound and cast into outer darkness where
there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And what verse follows that
statement? “For many are called, but few are chosen.” As
shown above, everyone is extended the invitation to know Christ as
their Savior, and some even accept the invitation, but unless you put
on a wedding garment, abiding in Christ, producing fruit, you will
not be chosen in the end.
Regardless of what people want to
believe, we do have a part in our salvation, not in gaining it, but
in hanging onto it. We cannot do anything to get justification
except to receive it, just as the seed thrown on the soil is accepted
into the soil (or our hearts). God must extend the prevenient grace,
He must give us the faith, and we can only reject or accept it. But,
after accepting it, it is our responsibility to hang onto it by
producing fruit. We can walk away willfully, or as these parables
illustrate, we can lose it due to negligence. “It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” - Hebrews
10:21.
There are a multitude of verses
throughout the New Testament that speak to this. Too many to put
here, but I will share a few to show that this is not drawing from
just a few random verses to show that this is what the Scriptures
teach. It is all through the Scriptures.
Philippians 2:12 “Wherefore, my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but
now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling.” One must ask why should one have
to work it out, and especially in fear and trembling if it is secure
and does not require anything on our part.
2
Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing.”
1 Corinthians 9:24 “Know
ye not that they which run in a race run all,
but one receiveth the prize?
So run, that ye may obtain.”
Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before
us.”
John 6:27 “Labour not for the
meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, which
the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father
sealed.”
Matthew 10:22 “And
ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but
he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
Matthew 24:13 “But
he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved.”
Mark 13:13 “And ye shall be hated
of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Philippians 3:14 “I
press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 6:15 “And
so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the
promise.”
It would then seem from all of these
Scriptures that we 1) can choose to reject or accept the revelation
of the Holy Spirit when He calls us to salvation, 2) must keep
Christ's commandments, abiding in Him and producing fruit and good
works to make our calling sure, 2 Peter 1:10 “Wherefore
the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure:
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” 3)
We can walk away from Yeshua out of willfulness or negligence and
lose our justification and ultimately our salvation.
But
what of verses like this in 2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved
us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
Many times there is more than
one way to understand a verse. What is important in interpreting it,
is that we see what the rest of Scriptures teach, and interpret it in
harmony with the rest of Scripture. According to this verse, our
calling and salvation is not according to our works, but according to
God's purpose. It is true that all the good works in the world by
someone will not bring them salvation. We have to have God extend the
grace and faith to believe, which is not based upon any of our works.
It is God's purpose that all be saved, so we are called because He
wants us saved and so extends grace and faith. It is not because of
our works that He decides to do this. He does this because He loves
us. However that does not negate that to make our calling sure, once
it has been given, that we must continue by abiding in Christ and
doing the works that validate our faith. This verse does not say, as
some would teach, that works are completely unnecessary, because we
are elect according to God's arbitrary purposes in calling us. In
light of the rest of Scripture we can see what it really says. The
whole concept of calling, election, predestination, eternal security
and all of this is very hard to understand, as it is so intertwined.
However while we cannot and do not save ourselves, only God can offer
us salvation, we are responsible to react to that offer of salvation
in the proper way. First by accepting it, then by working it out and
keeping it.
There
is further evidence that God foreknows and therefore predestines us,
and that while some may be saved for a while, they can walk away and
lose their salvation. This is shown through how the Book of Life is
used. We are told that names are inscribed in the Book of Life from
the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8 “And all that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written
in the book of life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.”
Revelation 17:8 “The beast that
thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall
wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world, when they behold the
beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
These verses tell us that there are two
groups of people. One group (the elect) have their names written in
the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, and the other
group does not have their names written there. We know from all the
above information that this is based upon God's foreknowledge of who
will and who will not respond to the Holy Spirit when He calls them.
This is predestination. Everyone who initially responds has their
name inscribed in that book. God also knows who will not respond to
His call, therefore these names are not written in the book. This is
why God can say things like Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated.
God did not arbitrarily decide to do this. He knew what their
response to Him and their actions in life would be before they were
even conceived. Further, we are told that people whose names have
been inscribed in the Book of Life, who initially receive Yeshua as
their Savior, can have their name blotted out of that book.
Revelation 3:5 “He that
overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I
will not blot out his name out of the book of
life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and
before his angels.”
Revelation 22:19 “And if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life,
and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in
this book.”
People can have their names blotted out
of the book (which means losing one's salvation). In particular if
they do not overcome or endure to the end. The second warning is far
more frightening for those who teach Bible prophecy for what does it
say? That those who add or subtract from God's prophecies will have
their names taken out of the book of life. This is serious,
especially for me, as I teach Bible prophecy. This is why I try to
stay to the literal words of the Bible when teaching it.
Those whose names are not written in
the Book of Life can expect an eternity in perdition, not in God's
kingdom.
Revelation 20:15 “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 21:27 “And there shall
in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in
the Lamb's book of life.”
