Can you explain what you mean by this?
Dear Wynona,
That is a very good question. It will take a little time to answer though, so please bear with me.
Here is mankind's created spiritual state:
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 3:10 As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
In this flawed spiritual state, mankind became carnally minded and sinful (subject to vanity).
It is mankind's carnality which blinds them from knowing and understanding God. Because of such, Christ must do all the work of of saving us.
Under the New Covenant of Grace through faith, Christ will destroy the old vessel and make mankind into a new vessel. This work of converting mankind into children of God is done
solely because the Potter desires to do it. Mankind's salvation is not dependent upon anything from mankind.
The Old Covenant of Law is based upon
man's work of making himself acceptable to God. But because of mankind's carnality, the Old Covenant of Law could not save mankind. To save mankind, mankind must be changed
spiritually. When a person comes to this realization, it will lead them to Christ and His spiritual work under the New Covenant.
The New Covenant is based upon
Christ's work of making mankind acceptable to God. Under the New Covenant, mankind has
no works to contribute to their own salvation. If they did, they would have something to boast about:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
When a believer is called out from the world, they will come under the New Covenant of Grace through faith. But because the believer will remain carnally minded, they will quickly begin mixing in their own works with faith.
This happens naturally:
Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, the old is better.
The Old Wine represents the blood of the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant. The New Wine represents the blood of Christ of the New Covenant. Carnal mankind prefers the Old Covenant of their own works over the New Covenant of Christ's works. Christ said that when a believer does this "mixing", they are trying to serve two masters (Christ & Satan).
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Trying to be acceptable to God by "works" is called the
crooked way. It is the way that this world approaches who they believe to be God and it is called
religion. It is also Satan's way and that is why Satan is called the crooked serpent.
In contrast, the New Covenant is based upon faith in Christ doing all the works and this is called the
straight way. That is why when John the Baptist made his call of repentance from works to the Nation of Israel, he said it was to make the pathway straight for the Lord to come.
Here is how Christ does all the works of saving a person under the New Covenant:
In the age, many people are called but few are chosen for salvation.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Since Christ is the only one who has the ability to save a person, He decides who to save and when they are saved.
In this present age, Christ is
only saving the First Fruits of His harvest of mankind. They were chosen for this blessing from the foundation of the world. They did nothing to earn this blessing. They simply were chosen by God to satisfy His own plan and purposes.
To save one of the Elect, Christ will come to them
without their asking and without their permission. He will then give them the Early Rain of the Spirit. With the Early Rain, they will make a confession of faith and will no longer be able to reject Christ:
1Cor 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
Until Christ comes to person and gives them the Early Rain, they can only reject Him. They have no "free will" ability to make any other choice.
After Christ gives a person the the Early Rain, the Early Rain will cause that person to make a confession of faith when they are presented with the Gospel. This confession of faith is not their own work, it is the work of Christ.
Prov 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Under the New Covenant, Christ's work is "spiritual" work. That work happens
within mankind. In this way, Christ will change a person into a new vessel.
As I said in my first post, the Early Rain is given only in an earnest amount (a down payment). It will leave the believer carnally minded and spiritually blind. In that condition, they will
fall away from faith alone and will begin mixing in their own works.
The
Doctrine of Free Will is the most common lie from Satan which causes a new believer to fall away and turn to religion for their salvation. A believer will use this "
works" based belief system of the Doctrine of Free Will to justify why unbelievers are worthy of hell and why they are not. The believer will falsely believe that they are wiser, smarter or simply less evil than those who reject Christ. And because of this belief, they will take credit for making the
right choice to accept Christ. But in truth, the credit for the decision they made is not theirs. Their decision came from the spiritual work of Christ which He did within them
beforehand. That is the only reason why they accepted Jesus as their Lord. They have nothing to boast about.
Since all newly called out believers remain carnally minded after receiving the Early Rain, they will
all fall away from faith alone and will mix in their own preferred type of works. When they do this, they will lose their salvation.
For a select few (the Elect), Christ will come to them a second time and will give them the Latter Rain. This is the full payment of the Spirit and it will cause the person to be "born again". It will also heal the person's spiritual blindness. Now with "eyes that can see", the truth of Christ in scripture will open up to them. It is the truth of Christ that will bring the judgment of Christ to them and subsequently, convert them. The old vessel will then be destroyed and the new vessel created.
This is how Christ saves a person. It happens solely because of Christ's spiritual work and He alone chooses when and to whom He will do this work. A person has no free will ability to save themselves.
And since Christ loves all mankind, those who have not been chosen for salvation before they die, Christ will save them in the next age after they have been resurrected to judgment. During their time of judgment, Christ will have mercy upon them and give them the Early and Latter Rains just as He did for the Elect.
This verse applies:
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law: justice, and mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Christ's judgment will not omit justice, mercy and faith. Before the "lost" are destroyed, they will receive mercy and faith and will be "born again". Justice is satisfied by the destruction of the old vessel.
By the end of the final age, 100% of mankind will be saved:
1Tim 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4 who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Phi 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The purpose of this creation is to create new children for God. In the end, Christ's mission of creating these new children will be accomplished.
1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
And mankind has no say in the matter:
Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of the heavens, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
And no one can "stay His hand".
Joe