This is pretty much what goes through my mind as I read these verses:
He chose us, He chose us before the foundation of the world. This passage is mostly on Predestination, for me it can be a very edgy subject. It says that He chose us.
Here is how Salvation works: We are all born in condemnation. We are headed to hell, yes for our sin, but more specifically, for our rejection of God. We all know God. A common question is; Will people who have never had the chance to hear the Gospel, will they go to hell? The answer, yes.
Harsh? No, they are receiving the same punishment, for the same thing that everyone that goes to hell is being punished for. Rejecting God. But how can they reject a God of whom they have not known of? Well, in Romans 1:19--20, Paul nails that. Of course they have heard, God reveals Himself in creation, these things he has made known to us that we may have no excuse. We have rejected God! We have no excuse, all who are created, have a knowledge of God, and have rejected God.
So that is the second step to Salvation, first we are born condemed but God reveals Himself to us.
The third step is our choice. You see, God, in all of His infinite wisdom and power, has predestined that He would show Himself to us, but in all of this predestination, He gives us the choice, to accept or reject. Accept God, through Christ, or Reject God and Christ.
In the debate of freewill versus complete predestination, I am in the middle. There are certainly several things predestined, but how God made love, love is a choice. And Jesus said that we must love Him with all our heart, love cannot be forced, but, it can be inspired.
So He chose us, He chose to save us.
He chose to save us because pleased Him, it brought Him pleasure. It glorifies Him, because of His grace, and it is because of His grace that we are redeemed. It's His blood that washes us, It doesn't paint over our sins in order to hide them, It washes us!
We have been predestined us, according to His purpose, so that we could live lives that bring praise to Him.
After we have heard, we accept, and we are sealed, and that glorifies God.
So, we are born sinners, God has revealed Himself to us, we hear, and we either accept or reject.
Romans 10:14--15;
Thanks for reading,
John Mark,
He chose us, He chose us before the foundation of the world. This passage is mostly on Predestination, for me it can be a very edgy subject. It says that He chose us.
Here is how Salvation works: We are all born in condemnation. We are headed to hell, yes for our sin, but more specifically, for our rejection of God. We all know God. A common question is; Will people who have never had the chance to hear the Gospel, will they go to hell? The answer, yes.
Harsh? No, they are receiving the same punishment, for the same thing that everyone that goes to hell is being punished for. Rejecting God. But how can they reject a God of whom they have not known of? Well, in Romans 1:19--20, Paul nails that. Of course they have heard, God reveals Himself in creation, these things he has made known to us that we may have no excuse. We have rejected God! We have no excuse, all who are created, have a knowledge of God, and have rejected God.
So that is the second step to Salvation, first we are born condemed but God reveals Himself to us.
The third step is our choice. You see, God, in all of His infinite wisdom and power, has predestined that He would show Himself to us, but in all of this predestination, He gives us the choice, to accept or reject. Accept God, through Christ, or Reject God and Christ.
In the debate of freewill versus complete predestination, I am in the middle. There are certainly several things predestined, but how God made love, love is a choice. And Jesus said that we must love Him with all our heart, love cannot be forced, but, it can be inspired.
So He chose us, He chose to save us.
He chose to save us because pleased Him, it brought Him pleasure. It glorifies Him, because of His grace, and it is because of His grace that we are redeemed. It's His blood that washes us, It doesn't paint over our sins in order to hide them, It washes us!
We have been predestined us, according to His purpose, so that we could live lives that bring praise to Him.
After we have heard, we accept, and we are sealed, and that glorifies God.
So, we are born sinners, God has revealed Himself to us, we hear, and we either accept or reject.
Romans 10:14--15;
Thanks for reading,
John Mark,
Coming from a long line of Presbyterians... well, I agree with you... but of course there are many things that God does in His mercy as He Wills, and we may not be able to place them in some doctrinal context, but here is what I wanted to share, I knew a lady from Cuba, where they do not allow freedom of religion, but not only do they not allow it, they inculcate unbelief in God. She said that at school they did an experiment, they would all close their eyes and pray to God for candy, then they were told to open their eyes and there was no candy. Then they were told to close their eyes and ask Castro for candy. When they were told to open their eyes, there was candy on their desk. But this lady was a believer... you know why? She said that there were some angels who would visit the kids when they were outside playing, and the angels would tell them about God and Jesus. She used to stutter and one of the angels touched her mouth and she was healed instantly of stuttering. Now... I know that some people say that only people can preach the Gospel, and would not believe this lady that angels told her about Jesus, but I believe her story, I know when a person is being honest, I think, and as for the idea of angels telling the children about Jesus... it does not contradict my beliefs. I was thinking how the angels were messengers who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds in the field. So it does not go against my understanding of angels as messengers sent by God to announce/declare Jesus to people ... wasn't it angels that told Mary Magdalene that Jesus had arisen from the dead? Anyhow, I believe this lady, as she was a simple and sincere person with no hidden agenda, and we were friends when we lived in Dallas, and I always wondered if the idea of someone not hearing the Gospel is not necessarily happening. I mean God is wanting mankind to be saved, so He will give every opportunity to people... we don't necessarily know how and when He does it... not that it takes away our responsibility, which is very important. To not warn people of danger is plain wrong... and to not tell people we know, about the need for salvation to escape condemnation in an eternal Hell, is clearly unconscionable. But there is more happening in the world than we are necessarily aware of, and I do believe that in this invisible spiritual battle, the Lord is in control, and people are being saved in spite of our failure in many cases to be more faithful to our calling to preach the Gospel to every creature.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Jesus say that if the children were not allowed to praise Him that even the stones would cry out in praise of Him? Well when we tell people about Jesus, aren't we declaring His praises, telling people of all He has done for mankind and testifying what He has done for us as individuals, as well? I think if we do not cry out and speak forth to help a lost person, we will be guilty of disobedience, but somehow, I believe that even Nature will cry out, in its own voice, and yes, if we don't do our job, God may pick someone else to send to do our job, and they will get the reward that we could have gotten.
Oh I agree, God can go out of His way to the extraordinary. And I have no doubt that if He wishes He can do something on His own with His angels.
ReplyDeleteBut if you read through the Bible, rarely is there a miracle performed without a human agent. Jesus fed the five thousand, but He used that boy and his food.
I strongly encourage you to get David Platt's book Radical, and read it. Especially chapter 7. I think then you will understand more where I am coming from.
thanks, will do
ReplyDeletebtw, you are right, in psalm 8 we read "what is man ...?" well God has favored us humans with great opportunities to serve Him in many ways...