Pastor Jim McClarty – A brief response to a recent email he received about the doctrine of predestination and whether it could hinder someone who was willing to come to Christ, but saw predestination as a hindrance:

” said Paul, “and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

2. Divine election is not merely corporate, but also of individuals.

Whereas it is true that Christ is himself the Elect One, and whereas it is true that the Church is the chosen or elect people of God, individuals are themselves chosen by God to believe in Christ in order that they might become members of the church. In other words, God didn’t simply choose the church. He chose the specific individuals who would comprise the church.

On a related note, this glorious act of God’s grace in electing some is unto eternal salvation and not simply to temporal service. Paul gave thanks for the Thessalonians because “God chose” them “as the firstfruits to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:13). After the Gentiles heard the gospel preached, “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

3. Everyone who believes the Bible believes in election.

The issue isn’t whether or not God chooses people to inherit eternal life. The issue is the basis on which that divine choice is made.

Some believe that God restores in the fallen human heart the ability or freedom of will to believe. Ultimately, then, whether or not they receive or finally reject Christ is up to them.

Others believe that the Bible nowhere teaches this notion of “prevenient grace” in which the depravity and moral corruption of the human heart is to some extent neutralized or overcome. Therefore, if anyone is to believe it must come about through the work of the Holy Spirit, who sovereignly regenerates their hearts and then effectually and unfailingly brings the elect individual to faith and repentance. Ultimately, then, whether or not they receive Christ is up to God.

4. Divine election is not an arbitrary choice made by God, as if there were no reasons why he chose some for eternal life but passed over others.

Election is “according to the purpose of his [God’s] will” (Eph. 1:5). The basis of this choice is “the mystery of his will” (v. 9). It was according to his “purpose” (vv. 9, 11) and “the counsel of his will” (v. 11).

So, why did God choose this person and not that one? It was his good pleasure and will that he do so. But why was he “pleased” to choose this one and not another? We only know that it wasn’t because of anything in one that was not in another. But whatever “reason” or “purpose” moved God to choose as he did, it was pleasing to him and in perfect harmony with both his justice and his love.

5. Divine election has the glory of God as its primary purpose.

In order to magnify his grace and make known the majesty of his mercy, God chose hell-deserving sinners to inherit eternal life and be joined in covenant union with his Son, Jesus Christ. He “predestined” them “for adoption as sons” (Eph. 1:5). Thus one purpose of election was to “save” hell-deserving sinners (2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:8-10).

But in a more ultimate sense, their salvation was designed to honor and magnify the grace and glory of God (Eph. 1:6, 12). Thus, our salvation is not the sole purpose of election. We were chosen for worship! We were chosen to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

6. Divine election is not based on God’s foreknowledge of your faith.

Faith isn’t the ground of election, but its fruit. It isn’t the cause of election, but its effect. We don’t get chosen by God because he foresees that we choose him. Rather we choose him because in eternity past he graciously chose us.

Thus, God’s choice of some hell-deserving sinners was not dependent on any will other than his own. Election “depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16). Thus, election is monergistic. It is the fruit or effect of one will, God’s will.

7. Divine election does not mean that people who want to have their sins forgiven and go to heaven when they die will instead go to hell.

No one goes to hell except those who deserve to. And no one goes to heaven except those who don’t deserve to. In other words, divine election does not mean that people who want to be saved will ultimately be lost.

God does not respond to people who repent and desire to trust Christ by saying: “Sorry. The quota of the elect is already full.” Jesus makes it clear that “whoever comes” to him shall be saved and “whoever comes” to him he “will never cast out” (John 6:35). Thus “everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him” will have eternal life (John 6:40).

8. Election doesn’t render faith and repentance unnecessary; election is what makes them possible.

Faith and repentance are absolutely necessary if one is to experience the forgiveness of sins and inherit eternal life. They are produced in the heart of an elect individual by the secret, sovereign, and mysterious work of the Holy Spirit in which he regenerates the soul and works to overcome all resistance to Christ, enabling the previously hostile heart to see and relish and take supreme delight in the beauty of Jesus.

9. Divine election does not undermine or negate the importance of evangelism and prayer.

Election is what assures us that our evangelism will be successful (Acts 18:1-11). Divine election does not mean that we need not pray. God does not ordain a certain end (in this case, saving faith in the elect) apart from ordaining the necessary means (prayer and evangelism) by which that end is attained.

10. God loves election, and therefore so should we.

When the Bible says that election is according to God’s “will” it means, among other things, that he enjoyed choosing some for eternal life. He likes it. He wanted to do it and took delight in it. Jesus, while praying to his Father, rejoiced that God had hidden spiritual things from the “wise and understanding” and had sovereignly revealed them to “little children” (Matt. 11:25). This was God’s “gracious will” (v. 26). If it pleased Jesus, it should please us as well.

Mike Riccardi is the Pastor of Local Outreach Ministries at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles. He also teaches Evangelism at The Master’s Seminary. In a recent article entitled “An Objection to God’s Sovereignty that Proves It” he writes:

In Romans 9, Paul discusses God’s absolute freedom in His saving purposes. He uses the illustration of the twins, Jacob and Esau, stating that God’s choice of Jacob over Esau had nothing to do with either of them. Rather, God chose “so that [His] purpose according to His choice would stand.” This choice was “not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Rom 9:11). He goes on to say that salvation “does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom 9:16), and then supports that claim by referring to God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart for the expressed purpose of demonstrating His power and proclaiming His name through the events that followed (Rom 9:17; cf. Exod 9:16). Paul then summarizes his point by declaring: “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Rom 9:18).

Then, Paul anticipates an objection: “You will say to me, then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’”

First, let us understand the objection itself. Paul’s imaginary (or perhaps not so imaginary) interlocutor has understood all that Paul has said about God up until this point.

He understands that salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace, and owes to nothing in man.

He also understands that it is God’s will, not man’s will, that is determinative and decisive in salvation (again, Rom 9:16; cf. John 1:13). He asks a rhetorical question to underscore this very point: “Who resists His will?” That is to say, “No one resists God’s will.” “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps 115:3). He accomplishes all His good pleasure (Isa 46:10), and no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2).

The objector also understands that God still holds man accountable. “He still find[s] fault.”

So the question is, “Since no one can resist God’s will, how is it fair that He still finds fault?”

Making Sense of the Objection

This objection proves very helpful in the Christian’s understanding of the nature of God’s sovereignty in salvation. Because whatever our conclusions are about the doctrines of grace, they must make sense of that objection.

And the fact is: the only way that this objection makes any sense at all is if three things are true: (1) Man ought to repent and be saved as commanded by God, (2) Man lacks the moral ability to repent and be saved, and (3) God still holds man accountable to repent and be saved, and will punish them for their failure to do so. In philosophical terms, this objection only makes sense if “ought” doesn’t imply “can”—that is, if commanding something of someone does not necessarily mean that they are able to do what you command. In theological terms, this objection only makes sense if the doctrines of total depravity, unconditional election, and irresistible grace are true.

But it is repugnant to the natural mind that we could be held accountable for something that we are unable to do—especially if we claim that it is a loving God that imposes this standard. And so different schools of thought devise alternative understandings of God’s sovereignty in an effort to save Him from what they believe to be unfair. However, none of these alternatives make sense of the objection in Romans 9:19). Let’s consider these alternatives. Continue reading →

Ephesians 1:1-7

Throughout the Bible, Alistair Begg explores basic principles of what it means to come to faith in Christ and the role of election in that process. When we recognize that we are who we are because God set His affection on us before the dawn of time, our hearts bow down in wonder at His mercy and grace.

Dr. John Piper has written this short article entitled “Ten Reasons to Revel in Being Chosen.”

Peter said to the “elect exiles” — that is, to Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire — “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9).

He meant it as an enormous encouragement for a tiny, beleaguered, persecuted minority in a vast sea of unbelief and growing hostility. The adversaries may seem powerful and numerous and dangerous and dominant. But look again. You are God’s chosen ones, a “people for his own possession.” O, dear suffering Christians, Peter would say, do you feel what that means? Revel in being God’s chosen ones! There are so many reasons!

1. Your faith is not the basis of God’s choosing you, but the result of it.

This means that your faith is a wonder — more wonderful than any of the seven wonders of the world. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). And there was a deeper choosing going on here than just the selection of the Twelve. We know this because Judas was part of the twelve, and he was not “chosen.” Jesus said, “I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me’” (John 13:18).

If you have come to Jesus, the wonder is that you already belonged to the Father, and the Father gave you to Jesus. You were not chosen because you came; you came because you were chosen. That’s what Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me. . . . Yours they were, and you gave them to me” (John 6:37; 17:6).

If you have believed on Jesus, the wonder is that you were first appointed to eternal life. You weren’t appointed because you believed; you believed because you were appointed. When the Gentiles heard that the gospel actually included them, “they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

Revel in the wonder that you are a Christian because God chose you to be one. Your roots, as a child of God, are in eternity — in the infinite mind and heart of God. Your faith, and all its fruits, are God’s eternal gift.

2. Therefore, the basis of God choosing you is not in you, but in grace.

Take God’s Old Testament people Israel, for example. Why did God set his favor on Israel above all the peoples of the earth? What was the basis of God’s calling them, “my chosen” (Isaiah 45:4)? Here’s Moses’ answer:

The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers. (Deuteronomy 7:6–8)

This is amazing: “The LORD set his love on you and chose you . . . because the LORD loves you.” He loves you because he loves you! That’s the deepest, and ultimate, basis of God’s choosing Israel.

Paul underlines the wonder. Why was Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel, chosen over his twin brother Esau? Paul answers, “Though they were not yet born, and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God’s purpose to choose might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls — their mother was told, ‘The older will serve the younger’” (Romans 9:11–12).

And the principle holds today, Paul would say, “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5). So it is with every true Christian. Behind our believing — behind our coming to Jesus—is grace alone. There is no ground for our being chosen beneath the all-wise and incomprehensible love of God. O the vastness of the repercussions of this unfathomable truth!

3. Since our faith and obedience is owing to God’s choice of us, we can know we are chosen.

It is a wonder that God’s unfathomable, eternal choice of who will be his children can be known by those he chose. Paul said that he knew the Thessalonian believers were God’s chosen ones. “We know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you” (1 Thessalonians 1:4). Continue reading →

the person writing is not open to any interaction. They have already made their mind up and are not looking for answers. Once in a while though, there is someone asking questions because they genuinely seek answers. While I do not believe this is the case with the following mail, it might be helpful for someone else who might be reading.

The visitor is writing in normal font and my very brief responses are in bold:

Visitor writes: God is NOT responsible for our wrong choices, and He is NOT obliging us to come to Him and force salvation on those who do not want.

My response: Actually I agree. God does not force salvation on those who do not want it. In grace though, He changes the disposition of our hearts, taking out the heart of stone, to see and adore what we were blind to before. All who genuinely come to Christ do so because they want to, which is always evidence that He has changed the “want to.”

Our Salvation depends on our own choice, not God’s.
All who come to Christ do so because of their choice, but man’s will is not the deciding factor in this. God’s mercy is. Human will is not a factor in our election to salvation, God’s mercy is (as Romans 9:16 states).

It is the prodigal son who chooses to return to God, but he could choose not to. He wasn’t forced or influenced in anyway. He noticed the goodness of his father, and returned home.

Do you believe then that the son returned without any activity on God’s part? It seems from your words that you do. If so, it would seem you are Pelagian in your view, which is outside the bonds of Christian orthodoxy. A good rule in hermeneutics is to interpret the narrative portions of the scripture (where there is a story being told) in the light of the didactic portions (where declarative teaching informs us). Just because no mention is made of the drawing of God in the story it is no indication that it was not a factor. Jesus Himself said “no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…” (John 6:44). Christ’s clear statement on the matter should not be forgotten when we read this or any other biblical narrative.

But that choice was never coerced on him. That was an intelligent appreciation to the goodness of his father.

So, the prodigal is saved because of his intellect? Really? I disagree completely but lets go with that for a moment. When we ask “so who gave him that intelligence?” Don’t we end up right back where we started – God? If he had more intelligence that others who did not return, do we not end up back with God again as the source of the intelligence?

It is extremely dangerous to ascribe our salvation to our wisdom and insight. The Bible says we are dead in trespasses and sins, hostile towards God and blind to His beauty – blind, not short sighted. If you attribute salvation to anything other than “amazing grace” – and put intelligence in its place, you place man in control and therefore some of the glory for salvation has to go to man, who did something good with the intelligence he had. That is shockingly unbiblical.

And that appreciation is HIS appreciation, not the Father’s. The Bible is an “iffy” book, “if you obey”. “if you do not obey.” And we are not robots.

God tells us to obey and men are not robots – I agree. Man has a will but it is an enslaved will – in slavery to the sinful nature – John 8:34; Romans 8:7,8.

Our human reason may be deranged after sin, but yet God was right there to plant the enmity, and His Holy Spirit strives with man, except those who persisted to reject Him (Gen 6:3). Even after the fall of Adam into sin, and his family, God encouraged Cain to master and overcome sin which he must because God knows he can (Gen 4:7), otherwise He is stupid to command human of whom He knew they cannot perform.

Here again is classical Pelagian thought. The error is to believe because God commands us to do something, we have the power to do it apart from grace. God says “Be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.’ While it is right for God to command us to do this, man cannot, not because of a physical handicap, but because man’s nature is hostile to God – therefore man is responsible for his sin.

The Bible texts exhorting us to continue in God’s grace (Acts 13:42; Rom 11:22; Col 1:23; 1 Tim 4:16; Heb 3:14), to remain faithful unto death (Rev 2:10), to endure to the end (Matt 24: 13), to be steadfast and not to fall like the wicked (2 Pet 3:17), to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet 1:10), to examine whether we are in the faith and to prove it (2 Cor 13:5), to take heed to ourselves and unto doctrine, and to continue in it in order to be saved (1 Tim 4:16), to lay hold on eternal life and to keep the commandment without spot, unrebukable until the Jesus’ coming (1 Tim 6:12-14), to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering,” “to cast not away your confidence” (Heb 10: 23, 35), repeated command to “watch and be ready” (Matt 24:42, 44; Luke 21:34, 36; Matt 26:40, 41; Acts 20:31; 1 Cor 16:13; 1 Pet 5:8,9; The Lord’s words in Rev 3:2, 3; 16:15), the reality of the word choked by thorns, or withered due to stoniness and sun, and lacking endurance (Matt 13:20-22; Lk 8:13-14; Mark 4:5-7) and the possibility of faith grown dim and joining the drunk and getting drunk with them (Matt. 24: 48-51; 2 Pet 3:3, 4; ) –these teachings do not condone the presumption, “once saved, always saved,” because one can choose anytime to cast aside God’s grace, and choice can sometimes be so rebellious that it will depend on one’s own righteousness and forget God, and become self-righteous, or be self-decidedly wicked (Rev. 22:11).

The true child of God will endure to the end and be saved and heed all the warnings given for casting away trust in Christ.

How easily men backslides! Only just a few remain consistent and unchanging, and only a few are wholeheartedly enduring to the end and do not falter along the way. The rest are weakling Christians who lack endurance, persistence and patience just like those planted on stony ground or a ground full of thorns.

Actually Scripture’s testimony is that those who fully and finally leave the faith never were true disciples of Christ (1 John 2:19)

The choice of man is responsible for that, and God is in no way responsible for our wicked and careless intentions.

I agree – man is responsible for his sinful actions, not God.

Sin is our own act, not God’s.

Yes.

God’s foreknowledge is not responsible in predestining those who refuse to be saved.

I advise you to do a biblical study on foreknowledge rather than assume it simply means that He knows ahead of time which choices men will make. He does know that, of course. But that is not what is meant by the word ‘foreknowledge.” See https://effectualgrace.com/2011/02/07/gods-foreknowledge-and-election/

It is true that only a few will be saved because there are actually only few in a thousand who in heart have God’s law and principles, and are truly righteous.

Righteous without grace?

Only a few as we can observe around us, and as what Christ sees (Matt 7:13, 14). But God did not predestine them to be righteous, that’s their choice, and the influences which they succumbed to. He predestined that all, if possible all must be saved, but He knew only a few will respond.

I notice that there is no biblical text cited for your view for the simple reason that there are none.

His foreknowledge did not impinge upon our choices. His predestination wills all to be saved, and that was His intent that He is not will any should perish (2 Pet 3:9). But He knew not all will appreciate His will and act upon it. Only a few are in the straight narrow path. The majority of the Christians are on the broad ways of life which leads to death.

I believe you have misinterpreted 2 Peter 3:9, which clearly, in its context, refers to His elect. http://www.monergism.com/blog/understanding-2-peter-39-john-samson-guest-post

Tim Keller is senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, New York, and author of numerous books. In an article entitled “3 Objections to the Doctrine of Election” he writes:

The doctrine of election—that those who freely come to God are those whom God has freely chosen—is easy to understand, and clearly taught in God’s Word, but it is not easy to accept. It has given thoughtful believers problems for centuries, and continues to do so today.

Here are three of the most common questions the doctrine of election raises:

1. If you believe in election, doesn’t that leave you with the problem of why God doesn’t choose to save everyone?

Yes, but the same is true for Christians who don’t believe in election. Election doesn’t create the problem, it only leads us to think about it. To deny the doctrine of election does not help you escape the issue. All Christians have this problem, and so we cannot object to election by appealing to it. A person who doesn’t believe in election faces this dilemma:

(a) God wants everybody saved.

(b) God could save everyone.

(c) God does not.

The question, though, still remains: Why not? That is the ultimate mystery, but abandoning the doctrine of election does not answer it. Continue reading →