In this latest post, I will tackle the most contentious of what are known as the "five points Calvinism" which were written to rebut the five points of Jacob Arminius at the Counsel of Dort. This is the letter I which stands for irresistible grace. What this means is that believers are irresistibly drawn to Christ while unbelievers are not.. It is more popularly known as the argument of free will vs. predestination.
I will attempt to show from Scripture the three big arguments swirling aro0und this point.
1. First and foremost, God does not predestinate people to hell.
As Scripture clearly says all men are born condemned by nature and all of mankind if left to its own will, would go to the lake of fire.
Scriptures:
Psalm 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the
womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Ephesians 2:12
That at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and
without God in the world: (In the OT times, Gentiles who were not proselytes to Judaism were hopelessly lost)
Ephesians 2:13
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Romans 3:10
King James Version
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
John 3:18
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.
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him.
Romans 3:19
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God.
I think we can all see that apart from faith in Jesus no one is saved but lost.
The next question that we must address is this, can an unsaved person who is in the "flesh" have an innate ability to choose god? People call this ability "free will".
Romans 3:11
There is none that understandeth, there is none that
seeketh after God.
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Romans 8:8
So then they that are in the flesh
cannot please God.
Isaiah 1:6
From
the sole of the foot even unto
the head
there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores:
they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
So it is clear from Scripture that those unsaved and in the flesh CANNOT please God. Accepting Jesus as Savior pleases God and Scripture says the unsaved man CANNOT do that? So how does one get saved?
Well Scripture is clear that we must confess Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead in order to be saved.
Let us how that happens in two parts.
Part 1:
Matthew 15:24
But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.
John 10:16
And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
John 10:27
My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Matthew 25:32
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one
from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats:
Matthew 13:24-31
King James Version
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
So we see Jesus speaks of sheep being sheep (eeither lost or need to be gathered from elsewhere) and wheat instead of tares. Nowhere in Scripture do we see anything implying that jesus turns goats in to sheep or tares into wheat.
So how do these sheep who know not jesus come to Him? (it is called pre=destination.) That is from the Greek "pro-orizo" which means to mark out in advance. Proof?
Ephesians 1:5
Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will
according as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Ephesians 1:11
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Chosen is eklegomai which means:
Outline of Biblical Usage [?]
- to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one's self
- choosing one out of many, i.e. Jesus choosing his disciples
- choosing one for an office
- of God choosing whom he judged fit to receive his favours and separated from the rest of mankind to be peculiarly his own and to be attended continually by his gracious oversight
Romans 8:29
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.
Foreknow is pro-ginosko where we get our word prognosis from. This means knowledge in advance through pre planning. A surgeon can give a prognosis because they have done the procedure many times and know what will happen and what the outrcome will be.
This is just a short study to show that God chooses us and not we Him. We choose Him because He first chose us!
John 15:16
Ye have not
chosen me, but
I have
chosen
you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that
your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father
in my name, he may give
it
you.
John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (God the Father gave us to Jesus)
John 6:39
And this is
the Father's will which hath sent me,
that of
all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at
the last day.
End Part 1