____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ December 21, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Calvinistic Vs. Bible Predestination (Tom Edwards) 2) Charging a Battery That Has a Dead Cell (Dennis Reed) ____________________________________________________ -1- Calvinistic Vs. Bible Predestination by Tom Edwards According to the Calvinistic concept of "predestination," whatever happens happens because God has planned it to be that way from the beginning -- and it cannot be changed. This is stated in the Presbyterian Confession of Faith, chapter 3, section 1: "God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass." The term "whatsoever" is comprehensive, all-embracing. It, therefore, includes not merely the good things that happen, but also the bad. Lying, stealing, committing murder, etc., would all be things that God has ordained to occur, if the Calvinistic concept of predestination were true. But could a God who "is righteous in all His ways" (Psa. 145:17), and who finds it better for one to be drowned than to cause another to sin (Matt. 18:6), be personally responsible for every transgression of mankind? The Bible tells us that the Lord does not even tempt a person to sin -- let alone cause him to do so! (See James 1:13.) The misconception that God has "unchangeably ordain[ed]" all that comes to pass is not based on Scripture. For the Lord can change His mind. And that deciding factor hinges upon the free will of man, which is not locked in to an unchangeable fate. Your eternal destiny depends on the choice you make. The example of Jonah and the city of Nineveh well illustrates this. The Lord sent Jonah to the city to preach their doom: "...Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). That's what God was going to do to them. However, the people came to their senses, repented, and sought the Lord's mercy; and the Bible says, "When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it" (v. 10). God changed his mind -- that's what "relenting" implies. Some might say, "but that changing of His mind was already a part of His predetermined plan"; but still let's not overlook the fact that the people's free will had a bearing on the outcome. Their future depended on their choice. But for more on God "changing His mind," consider Jeremiah 7:31: "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." If the Lord has unchangeably ordained all that was ever to happen, then how could anything occur that He did not already plan? Yet, in this passage, we find the people doing a wicked deed that God did not even think of having them to do. It never entered His mind. The wicked deed they carried out had nothing at all to do with the Lord's will or what He wanted them to do. It was all of their own doing. What they did was not part of a "predetermined plan of God before the world began." God also wills for all to be saved -- for He wants none to perish (2 Pet. 3:9); but man must use his free will to respond to God's gracious invitation to salvation from all past sins. For the Lord has predestinated His gospel plan that all who submit to it (by their own volition) will become a part of His elect. As Paul writes, "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 2:13,14). God's choosing of His elect, therefore, is not unconditional. Rather, one is called by the gospel. It is what instills faith and shows the individual what he must to do be saved and, therefore, how to be sanctified by the Spirit (Rom. 10:17). For being sanctified (made holy, set apart) by the Spirit can take place only after one submits to God's plan of salvation, which includes believing in the deity of Christ (Jn. 8:31), repenting of sins (Luke 13:5), confessing faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38), and being baptized into Christ (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:36-38; Rom. 6:3,4). Man's sanctification, therefore, is dependent upon his submission to these things. For though Jesus died for us, He doesn't believe for us, repent for us, submit to baptism for us, etc. We have that responsibility. Plus, we need to continue in the faith (Rev. 2:10) to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10). Peter goes on to say in the previous reference, "for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you" (vv. 10,11). The "these things" refer to diligence, faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love that are to be what we practice. So God does not arbitrarily choose anyone to eternal salvation, for He actually wants all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4); but if we submit to His predestined plan, we will become a part of His elect; and abiding in His word will result in everlasting life. This need for man to submit to God's predetermined plan can also be seen in 1 Peter 1: "And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth, knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God" (vv. 17-23). The Calvinistic concept of predestination is not found in the Scriptures, but Bible predestination is. All who believe and obey the gospel will be saved by it -- which has been God's plan before the world even began. ____________________________________________________ -2- Charging a Battery That Has A Dead Cell by Dennis Reed More than forty years ago, I shared in the Lord's work with a faithful gospel preacher in Birmingham, Alabama, who was the only preacher among our black brethren in that area who truly stood firm for the Truth and preached it with all boldness. Brother James Ashhurst, now deceased, was one of the finest men that I have ever had the opportunity to work with in my efforts to preach the gospel. Brethren Frank Smith and Bob Crawley, both now deceased, had the same confidence in this brother and diligently worked to help him in every way that they could to carry the gospel to the black people who made up almost half of the population of Birmingham during those difficult years of the 60's. Brother Ashhurst was telling me one day about a brother whom he was trying to strengthen through teaching and said to me, "brother Reed, helping this brother is like trying to charge a battery which has a dead cell -- you can charge it, and charge it, and charge it, and it will still be dead!" I thought then, and think even more today that our lack of effectiveness in providing strength, soundness, and knowledge to a great many of our brethren is being hampered tremendously by our having to try so hard to charge a battery which has a dead cell! We have often heard that one of the most difficult tasks in life is trying to help someone who doesn't believe that he needs any help or else he is just totally satisfied with what he is now doing and doesn't want to be helped! So we are therefore confronted with the task of getting brethren to recognize the tremendous dangers which threaten their faith, and to provide them with the teaching, exhortation, and strength to encounter the enemy -- but we find ourselves charging and charging, and charging, and then ultimately having to realize that our lack of success is simply because we are working with a "dead cell" -- a mind or heart which is not at all willing to receive the needed instruction! There are so many brethren who just refuse to listen, and they refuse to open their eyes so that they can see! There are so many who don't even have the desire to examine any kind of spiritual issue. There are so many who are being deceived and beguiled with smooth and fair speech! There are so many who believe the falsehood being spread by the "union in perversity" brethren that "it just doesn't matter what you believe, teach or practice -- you can still remain in full fellowship with God and with your brethren!" There are so many who want the kind of preaching which entertains them and tells them how really great and faithful they are! We are really living in a generation where it seems that many of our brethren prefer to hear "smooth things" and "deceits" (Isaiah 30:9-10). Yes, brother Ashhurst was right on target, "you can charge it, and charge it, and charge it, and it will still be dead!" When a person wants so badly to follow his or her own selfish desires, and when one so greatly desires to believe and practice what pleases and satisfies his own personal whims in religion, it becomes very obvious that you have a battery which is definitely going to resist a "charge" (Matthew 13:10-16). When you want to have fellowship with sinful doctrines and practices and still be justified in what you desire to do -- then you have become as dead and useless to the Lord as any of our neighbors out there in the denominational world who are of that same persuasion! And besides all of that, you may well have developed a whole vocabulary of derogatory names and remarks that you can make about those who would dare to question what you are teaching, practicing, or fellowshipping! Those who refuse to come to the light will never receive the Truth (John 3:19-21) (1 John 1:5-7) (Ephesians 5: 6-14). Yes, it is extremely difficult to drill through hardened material. We may well be trying to break through concrete walls, or we may well be plowing in rocky soil. It is becoming more and more evident that we are diligently trying to charge some batteries which have dead cells! But make no mistake, we are still totally confident that the gospel of Christ is the "power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16-17). And we are absolutely resolved to never "grow weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9) (2 Thessalonians 3:13). But, brethren, we must be straightforward and candid about the problem which we are finding more prevalent with every passing day. Jesus described it in these words as he quotes from the prophet Isaiah, "For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them" (Matthew 13:15). We cannot just throw away precious souls as we would a battery with a dead cell, so we must therefore look at the sober alternatives involved. Sometimes it may be as the Lord taught the disciples, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye go forth out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet" (Matthew 10:14). Or it may be necessary to turn in another direction, "But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he shook out his raiment and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles..." (Acts 18:5-11). Whatever the circumstances we encounter, we must continue to seek those who are "noble" enough to search the scriptures, "Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). I shall never forget the beloved brother who said to me, "you can charge it, and charge it, and charge it, and it will still be dead!" Brethren, are you and I reacting to God's Truth as if we were like a battery with a dead cell? Are we in need of spiritual "eyesalve" to anoint our eyes so that we can see (Revelation 3:18)? Shall we be like Israel of old and have our hearts so hardened that we will not believe (Acts 28:17-31)? Shall we be so arrogant and so certain that we have complete vision that we are unable to see ourselves as we really are (John 9:39-41)? Could it be that we are so selfish and enamored with ourselves that we are blind to the hypocrisy in our own lives (Romans 2:17-24)? Please be soberly reminded, brethren, our willful blindness and hardness of heart will cause us to lose our soul if we don't "awaken" before it is eternally too late! "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). -- Via Focus Magazine, Volume VI, Number 2, April 2003 ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________