A comment was sent in response to a recent post that I made about Election….a Biblical Word. The post was from “billy bob” and it reads: “IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE ELECTION DOCTRINE, THEN THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE BIBLE – IT WAS A WASTE, AND SO WAS JESUS DYING ON THE CROSS, AND…”he drops off from there... and then he challenged me to post his comment….so, here it is, along with my response.
I believe this line of thinking is based in ignorance to the Biblical and true doctrine of election. You see, no one who understands the slightest bit of doctrine for a word mentioned 43 times in the New Testament alone (by the way, free will is mentioned 0 times) would ever take it so casually. The Bible refers to us as “believers” 2 times in the New Testament, as “Christians” 1 time in the New Testament and as “the elect” 16 times in the New Testament. I think it is obvious that this is a Biblical word and thus, if we believe in election, it is that we ARE believing the Bible – and I count it all joy that Jesus would die on the cross for me….as a matter of fact, it says in 2 Thess. 2:13, (Paul said) “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” and we know that there is no salvation apart from Jesus’ death on the cross. Now, believing that God does the amazing work of drawing us to Him through regeneration of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, does not negate our necessity to witness from a heart of love and pray fervently for the lost. John MacArthur writes “Those statements defining God's sovereign choice of believers are not in the Bible to cause controversy, as if God's election means sinners don't make decisions. Election does not exclude human responsibility or the necessity of each person to respond to the gospel by faith. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). While it may seem as though these are opposing viewpoints inside the same Bible, they are indeed two sides of the same coin….God creates within us a heart to desire Him and a consciousness of our sinful, doomed state. Only through this awakened/regenerated heart can we see our need for Him and His love for us…then we will come to Him in faith and repentance of who we are, to accept all of who He is and who He wants us to be. Hallelujah what a Savior!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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For so many to say that election can not be reconciled with God's love is wrong. We should view it not as "how can God choose this one over that one..." but we should say "I can't believe God chose to save me from what I justly deserve" I was having a conversation with someone recently who asked me why God would chose one over the other. My response to these types of questions are to refer to Romans 8:28-30 and James 1:18. In Romans we see that Paul says in vs. 28 "and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the CALLED according to HIS purpose..." He is saying this to encourage the believer. then in vs. 30 it is said to show that by God choosing us for salvation we are bringing glory to Him. He predestined us to not give us Heaven, He predestined us to GLORIFY HIM. Then in James 1:18 it tells us "...of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.." He brought us forth, again not to do anything but bring Glory to Him.
Why is it noone has an issue when we discuss Israel being God's chosen nation, which they are, but yet when we discuss His election of His people before the foundation of the world, it causes problems. As God said in Job 39:1-2,"Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth? Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young?..." we could go on through Job 39. God created us, He says He chose before the foundation of the world. Who are we to question this and make claim that He does not have that right. All that Christ does is good and holy. Whether billy bob or whoever believes it or not does not make it so. Gods choosing His people does not mean we are better than someone else, it only means that God has shown His mercy on us to not give us what we deserve. We have to set our emotions on these issues aside. Belief should not dictate doctrine, doctrine should dictate understanding and belief.
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