____________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________