____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ July 21, 1991 ____________________________________________________ The Tulip Theory (Part Two) "Unconditional Election" by Tom Edwards What's that old clich‚ about telling untruths? ``One lie will lead to the next,'' and this is just what happens with the false doctrine of TOTAL DEPRAVITY. Yes, if man were born totally depraved then the other concepts of the Tulip Theory would have to naturally follow, for man would then be so wicked and so completely devoid of any good that he would not be able to even DESIRE to be saved; and God, therefore, would have to ``unconditionally elect'' him. This means that his election would not be on the basis of any thing which he could think, believe, or do; it would all be entirely up to God and separate from the individual's free will. Today's article will confront this false teaching of ``Unconditional Election.'' Reading from the Presbyterian Confession of Faith, chapter 3, sections 3,4,5, we are told: ``By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death. These angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number is so certain and definite that it can not be either increased or diminished. Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable (unchangeable, TTE) purpose and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith or good works or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions or causes moving him thereunto.'' Notice especially this last part: ``without any foresight of faith or good works or perseverance...as conditions or causes moving him thereunto.'' Clearly, this shows that the Calvinist believes that salvation is totally up to God. Only those whom the Lord has chosen to be saved prior to the foundation of the world will be saved; and these are chosen, not on the basis of their faith, their good works, or anything else they might think or do. Two of the consequences in believing such a doctrine are that 1) it takes away the free will of man, and 2) it makes God show partiality (Acts 10:34,35). Numerous passages in the Bible refute these misconceptions. Man does have a free will, and he must act in accordance with God's word if he wants to be saved. Long ago, Joshua gave the following ultimatum to the people of his time: ``And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord'' (Josh. 24:15). What would be the sense in even raising such a question if man were without a free will; and would, therefore, not be responsible for his acceptance or rejection of God -- for his choice would be totally up to the Lord. Similarly, Peter implored many of his contemporaries in that great day in which the church was established to ''...Save yourselves from this untoward generation'' (Acts 2:40). God will never save anyone against that person's will, and no one is to be blamed for one's reluctance or unwillingness except the individual who refuses to come to the Lord. Certainly God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4), is not to be charged with man's rebellion towards the gospel. What an obvious inconsistency this would be of the nature of the Lord, who wants all to be redeemed, but then would simultaneously not allow the majority of the world to be so because he has not ``chosen'' them. Also from 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.'' This word ``whatsoever'' is a comprehensive term that includes EVERYTHING and does not leave one thing out. Think about the ramifications of this. What ever happens, God has planned it to happen before the world began. This would include the evil as well as the good; and God would, therefore, be responsible for all. Why would the Lord then turn right around and condemn a person because of his sinful lifestyle, if it were the Lord who ordained for that person to live that way? Lying, stealing, committing murder -- are these all things in which God has ordained to happen? The Psalmist expresses in Psalm 145:17 that ``The Lord is righteous in all His ways....'' Simply put, this means that God ``does right'' in all that He does. Surely, the Lord would not cause another person to sin, and then tell that individual in Matthew 18:6 that it would be better for one to have a heavy millstone tied around his neck and drowned in the depths of the sea, then that he would cause a little believer to stumble. God does not induce or persuade anyone to do wrong. James shows that even temptations themselves, which man must contend with, are not from the Lord (James 1:13-15). As we have seen, according to the Calvinistic view, God from the beginning of time has ``UNCHANGEABLY ORDAIN(ED)'' whatsoever comes to pass. If this be so, then nothing could be changed; all things must occur as they had been planned prior to the creation of the world. But is God a God who can not change His mind? Let us consider the following classic examples in which He has: Pronouncement was made on Nineveh that in forty days it would be overthrown (Jonah 3:4). God was going to bring His wrath upon this city because of its wickedness. However, the hearers took heed: they repented and sought after the Lord's mercy. Jonah 3:10 states: ``And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them, and He did it not.'' Also, in 2 Kings 20:1-6 we have the account of King Hezekiah who was told to set his house in order for he was going to die. On hearing this, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and besought the Lord with tears. God then granted to this upright man a guaranteed fifteen more years to live. In both of these examples, the Lord is seen as having changed His mind. Another interesting verse, and even more convincing, is 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 did not command them, and it did not come into My mind.'' (See also Jer. 19:5 for a similar passage.) If God unchangeably ordained all that was ever to happen, how then could anything occur which He did not plan? Yet, in this passage, we find the people doing a wicked deed that God certainly did not command -- neither did the Lord even think of having them to do such a thing. What kind of being do some people imagine God to be, if at one moment He is viewed as telling everyone not to sin, but in the next instance He is seen as being the One who gives some people the ability to do right while the majority He has not chosen for this; and these will be consequently lost because they were not granted this ``power'' to choose the Lord and do His will. According to the Bible, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, for He ''...is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance'' (2 Pet. 3:9); and the Lord ``desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth'' (1 Tim. 2:4). Undoubtedly, if one's salvation were totally up to God -- and separate from any act of human will -- then would not all be saved? For according to these passages, God yearns for one person's salvation just as much as for the next -- He desires ``ALL men to be saved.'' Furthermore, in Luke 13:34, we can see of the Lord's intense concern for the people of Jerusalem. Jesus had wept over this city because He knew of its destruction to come, and in this passage He states: ``O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!'' The Lord greatly desired these to belong to Him. Unquestionably, their unwillingness to come to Him was not because of God, but because of themselves. Perhaps one of the favorite texts for the Calvinist in teaching his view on election is Romans 9:20-24. Here man is depicted as being the clay that is formed by the potter who represents God. Does this mean, however, that it is totally up to the Lord whether a person will be righteous or unrighteous? Does He simply decide arbitrarily which one He will fashion into being a saint and which one a lost sinner? In Jeremiah 18:6-10, the same metaphorical language is used, but here it lucidly shows that the condition of how the people would be molded was to be based on whether they would be willing and faithful unto the Lord or not. This individual responsibility is also seen in 2 Timothy 2:20,21 where the vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor are determined by what a person will do: ''...If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use....'' How did God go about electing those who are saved? Paul answers this for us in 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14: ``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.'' God had predestinated the gospel plan of salvation. Those who will yield through faith and obedience to this plan will become part of God's elect. Those who do so were not made holy or sanctified before the world began, but when they finally heard and responded to the gospel. We can correct the phrase ``unconditional election'' by simply erasing the first two letters -- ``un.'' Being one of God's elect is conditional. 2 Thessalonians 2 shows that we must be sanctified by the Spirit and have faith in the truth. This can only come about through our cooperation with God. We must, therefore, hear the word of the Lord and respond to it by our faith and obedience. Only then can we be sanctified by the Spirit and become one of God's elect. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________