* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Sovereign Love 5.06 x 7.81
Survey
Document related concepts
God in Christianity wikipedia , lookup
Holocaust theology wikipedia , lookup
Jews as the chosen people wikipedia , lookup
God in Sikhism wikipedia , lookup
Binitarianism wikipedia , lookup
God the Father wikipedia , lookup
Divinization (Christian) wikipedia , lookup
Salvation in Christianity wikipedia , lookup
State (theology) wikipedia , lookup
God the Father in Western art wikipedia , lookup
Christian pacifism wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
! ! ! Sovereign Love! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! By A. Kevin Ivy! !1 ! ! ! ! Copyright (c) 2014 A.Kevin Ivy" Scripture quotations taken from the " English Standard Version," ! ! (c) 2008 by Crossway Bibles" Additional Copies of Sovereign Love and " other publications may be ordered online at " ! ! ! ! ! ! www.missionsurge.com" Published by Mission Surge" !2 Table of Contents! ! Introduction………………………………… 7" ! Part 1—Definitions…………………………. 11" ! Chapter 1: What is Election?……………… 13" Chapter 2: The Golden Chain of Salvation 15" ! Part 2—Objections to the Doctrine of Election ………………………………………39" ! Chapter 3: God Wants Everyone to be Saved………………………………………… 43" Chapter 4: Does this Mean that some People are "Predestined to Hell?……………………55" Chapter 5: What about Free Will………… 63" Chapter 6: How is this Fair?……………… 75" Chapter 7: Why Should we do Missions if all of this is True?……………………………. . 83" Chapter 8: Why doesn’t this Make Sense.. 87" Chapter 9: If this is the Gospel how can it be Good News?………………………………… 91" ! !3 Part 3—The Final Straw…………………….95" ! Chapter 10: Acts 13:48 hits me…………… 97" Chapter 11: Church History………………101" Chapter 12: God’s glory in Salvation……103" ! Part 4—Danger of this Doctrine…………..109" ! Conclusion………………………………… 119" ! Bibliography………………………………..123" ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !4 ! ! ! “If these things be not so, condemn me as you please; but if the Bible is with me, your condemnation is of no avail.” " - Charles H. Spurgeon, Sermon, Search the Scriptures" ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !5 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !6 Introduction! " One of the most neglected doctrines in the Bible is the doctrine of God’s sovereign love. We hear much about God’s love. Possibly one of the most well-known verses of our culture is 1 John 4:8: “God is love.”1 " " We also hear people talk about their belief in the sovereignty of God. However, it is not clear how they define that sovereignty. Noah Webster, in his masterpiece on the english language, defined sovereign as follows: “Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; superior to all others; supremely efficacious; A supreme lord or ruler; one who possesses the highest authority without control.”2 This does not ! Scriptures are from the English Standard Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted 1 2Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the " English Language 1828 (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 2010). !7 seem to be how most of the 21st century American church defines sovereignty. " " It is a difficult thing for one to embrace the God of the Bible as truly and totally sovereign. Such a belief impacts, not only one’s view of God, but one’s view of salvation and all of life. God’s sovereign love is rooted in the offensive doctrine of His election. What does this word, election, mean?" " Election is ignored at best, and rejected at worst, partly because it is difficult to understand. It is also neglected because many are ignorant of the fact that it is explicitly found in the scriptures. I believe it is neglected primarily however, because it is a doctrine that is despised and hated by our human, fleshly nature. We want to be in control. We want God to operate in the realm of what we consider fair and right. When something threatens our control, our rights, and our standards of fairness, we naturally rebel. However, we miss a more complete understanding of salvation and !8 grace when we overlook the doctrine of election." " How can I say these things? Because this is exactly how I felt when I first encountered the doctrine of election. As I read, studied, and listened, I struggled with the doctrine. I attempted to explain it away. I even went so far as to say on one occasion, “If this is the God of the Bible I will not worship Him!” What a dangerous statement to make, and yet, such was my hatred of this doctrine. I only wanted God to be sovereign in “theory.” A God who was sovereign in “reality” was too much for me to accept, even if His sovereignty was rooted in love." " It took me almost thirteen years of wrestling with the text, and with my flesh, to finally fully surrender to the truth of this doctrine. And when I did, it was as if I discovered a key that unlocked the scriptures in an amazing way. Texts that made no sense began to be clearer. I was able to see deeper, more consistent things in God’s Word. After more than a decade of !9 struggling, I can say that it was well worth it to come to grips with the truth that God is truly sovereign. " " It is my hope and prayer that you will joyfully embark on this journey of seeking the truth about the one true God. It is my hope that your journey will be as rewarding as my journey has been. I also hope that it does not take you more than a decade of struggling to reach an informed conclusion! " " One major reason that I have endeavored to write this little book is to recount for you my journey. I hope that as I share with you my journey, you will be able to come to a biblical, logical, and informed conclusion sooner. That is my prayer for you and for this little book. May God use it as He deems fit and for His glory alone." ! ! ! ! ! !10 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Part 1! Definitions! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !11 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !12 Chapter 1! ! " What is Election?! According to Grudem, “Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any forseen merit in them, but only because of His sovereign good pleasure.”3 Read that definition again. Election is an act of God that took place prior to our existence. Election is God choosing some people to be saved. Election is God making His choice based solely on His sovereign good pleasure, not on our acts. Salvation is ultimately the work of God. The doctrine of election drives this truth home. It is God who does the work. " Notice how this definition is rooted in Ephesians 1. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as 3Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An " å to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 670. !13 he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6)." " This is not a new doctrine. The sixteenth century puritan William Perkins wrote, “Election is God’s decree whereby of his own free will, he hath ordained certain men to salvation, to the praise of the glory of his grace.”4 We cannot ignore the reality of church history and the content of scripture. We must wrestle with this doctrine, rather than ignore, or presumptively reject it. If we are to wrestle well, we must consider some additional key words that need to be defined" ! ! ! 4William Perkins, A Golden Chaine, or, The " Description of Theologie, Containing the Order of the Causes of Salvation and Damnation, in Works, 1:24. !14 Chapter 2! The Golden Chain of Salvation! ! " If we are to gain an understanding of this difficult doctrine, we must begin by taking time to consider Romans 8:28-30. It says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” This text clearly states that God predestines. It goes on to say that God calls, God justifies, and God glorifies. God is doing the work." " This “golden chain of salvation” begins with the phrase, “those whom He foreknew.” This is an extremely important term in the chain. If we are to understand this chain of salvation, we must have a biblical understanding of God’s !15 foreknowledge. If we are to understand what foreknew means, we must first understand what it does not mean. " ! • What Foreknow Does Not Mean! ! " We must begin by recognizing that this word foreknow does not mean that God looked down through time, saw what we were going to do, and then chose us based on what He knew we would do. Pink said, “God foreknows everything that will be, because He has ordained everything that shall be; then it is to put the cart before the horse when we make foreknowledge the cause of God’s election.”5 God does not look down through history to see what we will do and then base His choice of His elect upon that type of knowledge. " " There are 2 reasons this cannot be true. First, if this were the case, no one 5Arthur W. Pink, The Doctrine of Election " (Memphis: Bottom of the Hill Publishing, 2011), 15. !16 would have believed! If God had looked down through history waiting and watching to see who would believe in Christ there would have been no one who believed. Why? Because no one has the ability to believe on their own. "Ephesians 2:1 describes us as “dead in the trespasses and sins.” He does not say that we are sick and needy. He said that we, in our lost state, are dead. Norvell Robertson rightly pointed out, “No stronger term can be found in any language than the word dead. The phrase, ‘in trespasses and in sins’ fixes and defines the term dead. Not deprived of the use of our mental powers, or the exercise of our moral affections, but wholly under the power of our carnal nature; or in other words, totally depraved.”6 Not one soul on earth would have chosen God, because no one is capable of choosing. We were all spiritually still-born." 6Norvell Robertson, Handbook of Theology " (Memphis: Southern Baptist Publication Society, 1894), 24-25. !17 " Have you ever touched the lifeless body of a loved one as you pass through to pay your last respects at the funeral home? Have you ever felt of a dead body? If so, there were several things that I am sure you noticed and remember vividly. " " First, the body was cold. Secondly, it was hard. Thirdly, it felt empty. And finally, the body did not respond in any way. The body of your loved one was there, but they were no longer present. This is the way the Bible describes our spiritual state before salvation: dead. We are spiritually cold, hard hearted, empty, and unable to respond in an acceptable way to the gospel call. We are dead." " But does the word “dead” really mean dead? Robertson wrote, “If we possess by nature a particle of spiritual life, there is no propriety in saying we pass rom death unto life. Before the transition we are spiritually dead, and after it we are spiritually alive. While spiritually dead we are as incapable of doing anything !18 spiritually good, as the dead body of a man is of performing any useful action.”7 If the Holy Spirit meant that we were sick and needy, He would have said so. Instead He describes us as dead. " " In 1 Corinthians we see this inability confirmed. We read that “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The natural person would never believe on his own accord. He will not accept the things of God, nor be able to understand them. There is only one way for a dead, blind, incapable person to respond. They must be given life! It is obvious that such life must come from outside of ourselves. " " According to Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.” " 7Robertson, 27. !19 God makes the natural person, who is dead in his trespasses and sins, alive. The only hope the lost person has is for God to give him life. J.L. Dagg, the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention said, “We are not to understand the foreknowledge here mentioned, to be foreknowledge of faith or good works. Faith and good works do not exist, before the grace consequent on election begins to be bestowed; and therefore a foresight of them is impossible. Moreover, the objects of this divine foreknowledge are the persons of the elect, and not their faith or good works.”8 " " If God’s foreknowledge means that God looked down throughout time to see who would respond to Him of their own accord, no one would have responded because no one would have been capable of doing so. No one could have possibly responded without God taking the initiative, 8John Leadley Dagg, Manual of Theology " (Charleston: Southern Baptist Publication Society, 1859) 312. !20 and therefore God would have chosen no one. Dagg wrote, “Election is not on the ground of foreseen faith or obedience. On this point, the teachings of Scripture are clear. They are chosen not because of their holiness, but that they may be holy (Eph. 1:4); not because of If God’s foreknowledge means that God looked down throughout time to see who would respond to Him of their own accord, no one would have responded because no one would have been capable of doing so. their obedience, but unto obedience (1 Pet 1:2).”9" " The second reason this definition of foreknowledge cannot be true is that salvation is of grace, not of works. If God looked down through history and based His decision on our choice (good works such as praying a sinner’s prayer, submitting to " 9Ibid. !21 baptism, joining the church, living a good moral life, making a decision etc.) then salvation is no longer by grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” If God based His election upon what we would do, or would not do, then our salvation is rooted in and based upon our works and/or our choices, and it is no longer solely of grace. If the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone, then it follows that we can do nothing to merit our salvation! And if we can do nothing to merit our salvation, then someone else must graciously grace us with salvation by grace. And if God gives salvation by grace alone, then God is the one who is doing the work. And if God is doing the work, then God is clearly sovereign and the doctrine of election is necessary and logical." " In an effort to avoid embracing a truly sovereign God, some have argued that God could know all things, but He chooses !22 to conceal some things from His knowledge. He chooses not to know certain things until they happen. This is difficult to reconcile logically with who God is and with scripture. " " Robertson in response to this type of argument wrote: “He hides an event from Himself in order to leave man to his own choice, and thus He knows not what man will do till the event transpires. But how can He hide an event from His view of which He knows nothing? If He does not know of it, how can He know how to conceal it from His view?10 Clearly, this argument makes no sense when considered from Robertson’s perspective and, more importantly, from scripture. Proverbs 15:3 states, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” God knows all things! Furthermore, “if there is anything that God does not know, then in that thing He is " 10Robertson, 180. !23 ignorant. Is the reader prepared to say that God is ignorant?”11 I would think not! " " God knows all, or He is not the God of the Bible. God knows the past, the present, the future, and all of the possibilities. Yet, He does not base His sovereign election upon this type of foreknowledge or no one would ever believe and salvation would not be solely of grace." ! • What Foreknow Does Mean! ! " If foreknowledge does not mean that God looked down through history at the acts and decisions of men in order to determine who His elect would be, what does this word “foreknow” mean in relation to salvation? Let us let the Word of God define it. " " The Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) translates the root of the word Paul uses here in several places. Look at the following verses where the word “know” is used as we seek to " 11Ibid., 183. !24 discover what the term foreknow is referring to. " " Genesis 4:1 states, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” Genesis 4:17 states, “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.” What kind of knowing is that? This does not mean he knew who she was. It is referring to the most intimate relationship in human existence. Amos 3:2 says, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Did God not know all the families on earth? Does God not know everything and everyone? He knew about all the families, but only chose (knew in an intimate way) Israel. Hosea 13:5 says, “It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.” Are you able to see the pattern here?" " From these texts it is clear that this knowledge is referring to more than simply a common knowledge of events. It is referring to an intimate, compassionate knowing. !25 Based upon this truth, foreknowledge could really be defined as fore-love. In fact, John Murray says, “Know is used in a sense practically synonymous with love…Whom he foreknew is therefore virtually equivalent to whom he fore-loved. Foreknowledge, is sovereign, distinguishing love.”12 " " The term foreknow is virtually the same as set your affection on and choose for your own. So the meaning of the first act of God in Romans 8:29 is that God foreknows His own people in the sense that he sets His affection on them, loves them, and cares for them. It is a God predetermined intimacy. That is foreknowing. " " Arthur Pink wrote, “Having chosen them in His dear Son unto a perfection of holiness and righteousness, God’s love went forth to them, and bestowed upon them the chiefest and highest blessing His love could confer: to make them His children by adoption. God is love, and all His love is " p. 249 12John Stott, quoting Murray, Romans, " !26 exercised upon Christ and those in Him.”13 Ephesians 1:4-5 affirms this: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love (in foreknowledge/forelove) 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” Out of this foreknowledge He predestined." ! • Those Whom He Foreknew, He Predestined! ! " What is predestination? I so often hear professing believers say that they do not believe in predestination. Maybe, a wiser statement would be, “it is hard for me to accept predestination.” After all, predestination is referred to throughout God’s Word. How can we say we do not believe in the Bible? What is predestination?" " The word “predestine” means to decide or ordain ahead of time what destiny you will have. To quote the puritan William " 13Pink, 13. !27 Perkins again: “Predestination is the means by which God manifests His glory to the human race.”14 God predestined. We can not just throw out part of the Bible, explain it away, or deny it because we do not like it or believe it. It is still God’s inspired, inerrant Word, and the Bible clearly says “He predestined” His people. " " This doctrine of election and predestination is found throughout the scriptures. We read in Revelation 13:8 “and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.” In Revelation 17:8 we see again, “And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” Does it not stand to reason that if a group of people were not written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world, that there is another " 14Perkins, 1:24. !28 group of people who were written down before the foundation of the world? In fact, Ephesians 1:4-6 affirms this truth: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” " " For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined. This simply means that having chosen you for His own, and set his love on you, and cared for you before you ever existed, he decided what would become of you, namely, you would be conformed to the image of his Son. And He did it according to the purpose of his will and for his praise. In the words of Beeke, “Ultimately, predestination must not be understood in terms of what it does for man, but in terms of its highest goal—the glory of !29 God.”15 He predestined ultimately for His praise. The chain continues however: Those whom he predestined in foreknowledge, He also called." ! • Those whom He predestined, He also Called! ! " In order to understand what the Bible means by “called,” we must understand that there are two types of calls in the New Testament. First, there is the general call of the gospel. The general call takes place when the sower goes out to sow his seed. The gospel seed is broadcast far and wide on hard soil, shallow soil, thorny soil, and good soil. The gospel call is issued in the hearing of many. It is an external call addressed to the ears and minds of the hearers. Many hear this call over the centuries, but most reject it. In the words of Jesus in Matt 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen." " 15Joel Beeke, A Puritan Theology (Grand " Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), 121. !30 " Second, there is an effectual call. This is an internal call, the Spirit of God drawing men to Himself, that results in conversion. Note the following texts. Romans 1:6 states, “including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” We read in 1 Corinthians 1:2, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.” Revelation 17:14 states, “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Again in 2 Timothy 1:9 we read, “(He) saved us 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.” All of these texts refer to the internal, effectual call. It is impossible for a person to be saved without this internal call or drawing. Jesus Himself said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” " !31 " The effectual call is a powerful work of God that brings about what he demands. It is a resurrecting, regenerating, awakening call that accompanies the general call of the gospel invitation. It is a call that creates what it commands. Dagg wrote, “The gospel is preached to every creature; but all, with one consent, ask to be excused. The will of men must be changed; and this change the will itself cannot effect. Divine grace must here interpose. Unless God work in the sinner to will and to do, salvation is impossible.”16" " Did Lazarus hear the call of Jesus, decide to get up, and come out of the tomb? No he did not. Lazarus was dead, and dead people can not hear! God had to first resurrect him so that he could hear and respond to the call of Jesus. Sure, it seemed to happen almost simultaneously, but no one would argue the fact that a dead Lazarus could not hear, get up, or walk out of a tomb. It is the same spiritually. The spiritually dead person cannot hear with spiritual ears " 16Dagg, 322. !32 or come out of their spiritual graveyard to Christ without being given spiritual life first. Those who are called in this way, those who are awakened by the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, will respond and they will be justified." ! • Those Whom He Called, He also Justified! ! " What is justification? To be justified means that there is a “not guilty” verdict. According to Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In justification, God declares us not guilty of sin: past, present, and future. God looks out across the population of history and fore-loves or foreknows some according to the purpose of His will and for His glory. He then predestines or predetermines that those people He foreknew will hear with their spiritual ears His effective, internal, awakening call as the gospel is proclaimed. When they hear the call of the Spirit of God, they will respond and be justified; declared !33 not guilty. And those He justified He also glorified!. " ! • Those Whom He Justified, He Glorified! ! " If God has called you and justified you, He will glorify you. Philippians 1:6 declares, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” It is so certain, Paul wrote it in the past tense!" ! ! This is known as the golden chain of salvation. God foreknew His elect. Those whom he foreknew He also predestined. Those whom He predestined He also called effectually. And all those whom He foreknew, predestined, and called, He justified and will glorify. The obvious question is, “Where are we in the equation?” The answer is, we are on the receiving end of all of these words. We are predestined. We are called. We are justified. We are glorified. We receive it all by His grace. " !34 " Our nature is to desire to assume some responsibility, even if it's a small responsibility, for having believed. We desperately want some credit for having made a right choice. Pink wrote, “Meritmongers will not allow the supremacy of the divine will and the impotency of the human will. Consequently they, who are the most bitter in denouncing election by the sovereign pleasure of God, are the warmest in crying up the free will of fallen man.”17 We are not saved however because of our own works, but because of His work. 2 Timothy 1:9 states, (God) “who saved us 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.” God, because of His own purpose and grace, gave us grace in Christ before time began. That is the doctrine of election!" " Salvation is a glorious thing and election is vitally important to a proper " 17 Pink, 9. !35 understanding of it. Iain Murray said, “The Doctrine of election was vital to the Puritans; they believed with Zanchius that it is the golden thread that runs through the whole Christian system, and they asserted that a departure from this truth would bring the visible church under God’s judgment and indignation.”18 Could this be one of the reasons for the dryness, dullness, and deadness of the modern church in America? Could our spiritual dryness be due to the fact that we have, for the most part, rejected (or redefined) the doctrine of election? Could it be that we have robbed God of His glory by attempting to maintain some of the credit for our salvation?" " God the Father chose us before the foundation of the world in election. God the Son purchased us on the cross at the atonement. God the Spirit effectually calls 18 Iain Murray, The Puritans and the " Doctrine of Election in Puritan Papers, Volume One, 1956-1959, ed. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2000),5. !36 us in regeneration, enabling us to repent and believe the good news of Christ. By the Spirit and the Word we are sanctified more and more until we are finally glorified! It is a glorious salvation rooted in God’s love for His people and His ultimate purpose of bringing great glory to His Name. " " I know and admit that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in salvation is a difficult doctrine. I hated the thought of a truly sovereign God myself at one time. Please do not give up yet! We will see that He is not just a God who is sovereign, but He is a God of sovereign love. Hopefully addressing the following objections that plagued me for more than a decade will help you embrace this doctrine, and this sovereign love, more fully." ! ! ! ! ! ! !37 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !38 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Part 2 ! Objections to the Doctrine Election! ! " ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! " !39 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !40 " As I stated earlier, I struggled with God’s sovereignty and the doctrine of election for almost thirteen years. No matter how many times I attempted to explain it away, I would always run across a passage of scripture that pushed it back to the forefront of my mind. No matter how many objections I leveled against the doctrine, God always had an answer. After striving with God in His Word, and struggling through each objection, God finally dealt the death blow to my flesh in a single verse of scripture that I will share toward the end of this work. " " Until then, let us work through my own seven objections to this doctrine, and the answers I discovered in scripture. This is my personal journey that I hope you will benefit from." ! ! " ! ! " !41 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !42 Chapter 3! Objection 1: God wants everyone to be ! " saved! It is very clear that there are scriptures that state God’s desire for all to be saved. I do not deny them, nor do I have issue with them. It would be no more right for me to deny those verses than for someone else to deny the verses that speak of God’s sovereignty. The Word is clear that God’s desire is for all to be saved. For example 1 Tim 2:3-4 says, “God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Again, 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” When one considers the scriptures above, there seems to be a contradiction in God’s Word. How can He desire everyone to be saved while at the same time only choosing to save some? " !43 " We must recognize that there is a difference in God’s desire and God’s purpose. This is vitally important. You must grasp this in order to properly understand these texts! God’s desires are sometimes different than His sovereign plan. His plan is to bring Himself glory in everything even if it causes Him sorrow. Because His purposes are a greater priority than His desires, God can decree something that causes him sorrow yet ultimately will further his glory. He can do things that contradict His desires in order to fulfill and establish His purposes. " " For example, punishing sin on the cross by crucifying His son was His purpose, but not His desire. Luke 22:41-43 says, “And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’” How can Christ be God in the flesh and yet have a different will than God, the Father? !44 Don’t they have the same will, if indeed they are truly one? " " God the Son is in the garden speaking of His desire to avoid suffering the wrath of the Father that was about to be poured out upon Him as He went to the cross. The Father is intent however on receiving the great glory that, through this suffering, will come to pass. We see the desire of God in the Son and we see the purposes of God in the Father. God’s desires are sometimes different than His sovereign plan. God’s desires differ from His purposes and His desires are subordinate to His purposes. Christ’s desire was for the cup to pass because it would be beyond dreadful. God’s purpose was for Him to drink the cup because it would bring Him great glory in the end. " !45 " Do you see how God can desire that everyone be saved, and yet purpose not to save everyone? In order to bring Himself more glory, some are chosen to be saved while others are left to their sin in order to suffer the wrath of God. Consider Romans 9:17-24. “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’” Did God desire Pharaoh to be saved? According to 1 Timothy 2:3-4, yes! Yet, God raised Pharaoh up to rebel against God and be an instrument that would reveal the glory of God. Why did God raise up Pharoah? In order to glorify His Name in all the earth. God’s glory is first and foremost!" " Read on in verse 18. “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” Who does the hardening? God. Who does He harden? Whomever he wills! Verse 19, ‘You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’” That was likely your thought wasn’t !46 it? The Holy Spirit answers through Paul in verses 20-21. “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use?” And here we see His purposes magnified in verses 22-24. “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” " " God prepared some who would eventually suffer destruction in order to show His patience with sinners and His justice toward sinners. He also does so in order to magnify the great grace He shows to His chosen people. He acts in this way in order to put Himself, and His attributes on display, which is His great purpose: to !47 glorify Himself. His purpose of bringing glory to Himself overrides His desire to see all people saved." " While this may seem strange, we must remember, in the words of John MacArthur, “God has just as much right to use His attribute of destruction and wrath and put that on display against the ungodly, as He does to put His grace and love and mercy on display for those He elects. Very clear, don't argue with God. You're only showing your pride, and the ignorance of your finite mind. If you can't understand it, believe it. That's what it says, that's exactly what it says. It doesn't depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who will have mercy on whomever He decides to have mercy.”19 God has the right to do what will bring Him the most glory, even if He desires something else. " 19 From John MacArthur’s sermon: " Chosen by God, Part 1 (http://www.gty.org/ resources/sermons/60-2/Chosen-by-GodPart-1). !48 " We see this conflict between God’s purpose and His desire in Lamentations as well. Lamentations 3:31-33 states, “For the Lord will not cast off forever, 32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.” Re-read that verse. It says, He does not willingly afflict. He does not willingly afflict? Who is forcing God to do something against His will? Again, there is a difference in God’s purpose and His desires. He purposes to afflict for His greater glory, but He does not desire to afflict because of His compassion for men. " " Lamentations 3:38-39 goes on to say, “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? 39 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?” God declares the good and the bad, not based on His desires, but according to what will bring Him the most glory. God’s desire is very real, but subordinate to !49 His sovereign will which is based on what will bring Him the most glory. " " God knows that electing some to be saved, but not all, will ultimately result in greater glory for Himself, even though He desires everyone to be born again. He can desire all men to be saved. He can desire that none suffer His wrath. But, His purposes are greater than His desires. God demands glory for Himself, and He has every right to do so, for He alone is God." " We see another instance of God’s desires being set aside for His greater purpose. In John 11 Jesus refused to go to Bethany when he heard that Lazarus was sick. Why? Was it because He wanted Lazarus to die? Was it because it was His desire that Mary and Martha mourn? Was it because it was His desire that they bury their brother and weep over their loss for four days? Absolutely not! In fact, the only time that we see Jesus weep is in this text. " " His desire was to heal Lazarus, relieve Mary’s and Martha’s pain and !50 everyone live happily ever after. Why did He allow them to suffer unnecessarily when all he had to do was go? Because, He wanted more glory. By Him not going, he sentenced Lazarus to death, his family to tears, and Himself to more glory. " " In the God has the right to same light, His do what will bring desires for all to Him the most glory, be saved are even if He desires on subordinate to His a lower level, purpose of something else. bringing glory to Himself through the election of His chosen people and the reprobation of those who are not His chosen people. God’s order of salvation is all for His glory. In the words of C. H. Spurgeon, “Search for the celestial fountain, from which the divine streams of grace flow to us, and you will find Jesus Christ the well-spring in covenant love. If your eyes shall ever see the covenant roll, if !51 you shall ever be permitted in a future state to see the whole plan of redemption as it was mapped out in the chambers of eternity, you shall see the blood-red line of atoning sacrifice running across the margin of every page, and you shall see that from the beginning to the end one object was always in view—the glory of the Son of God.”20! " Let me conclude this objection with some thoughts from another angle that might help you grasp the inconsistency of saying that God unequivocally desires everyone to be saved. If God really desires everyone to be saved (in the way it is so often assumed) why does He not save them? Is it because He cannot? Or is it because He will not? If it is because He cannot, then who is really sovereign and in control here: me or God? If I am in control of God, that makes me God! This is the result of a humanistic influence upon the modern American church. If it is because He will not, then He must be an unkind God. There " 20 Pink, 16. !52 must be more to this than God’s great desire being the salvation of every person. " " Think about this. Please stop, take a breath and think here! If God knows what we will choose before we choose it (and He does because He is omniscient)…and He truly desires everyone to be saved (without qualification as many today interpret it)… then why does He choose to create those whom He knows will not choose Him? Why not stop the creation factory and only create those who will choose Him and solve the problem of hell? " " If He knows who will choose Him and who will not, and His greatest desire is for everyone to be saved, then why does He go ahead and create those He knows will reject Him until their dying breath? God’s heart of compassion desires everyone to be saved, and yet He determines that not all should be saved. Why? Because His greater purpose is to put Himself and His glory on display through His grace, justice, and wrath. To quote Dagg, “Had it been his !53 purpose to save all the human race, there would have been no elect from among men; no peculiar people, no redeemed out of every nation.”21" ! ! ! ! ! ! ! If He knows who will choose Him and who will not, and His greatest desire is for everyone to be saved, then why does He go ahead and create those He knows will reject Him until their dying breath? ! ! " 21Dagg, 310. !54 Chapter 4! Objection 2: Does this mean that some ! " people are predestined to hell? ! Another objection that I struggled to come to terms with was this one. If we are to be logical in this matter we must admit that if God predestined some to heaven, then He must have, by default, predestined some to hell by virtue of the fact that He did not predestine them to heaven. If those who are not elect will not be saved, then is God not ultimately the One responsible for their condemnation? " " We do see very clearly, in scripture, that there are those who are destined for condemnation. For example, Jude 4 states, “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” They were long ago designated for this condemnation. Who designated them if not !55 God? We see this echoed in 1 Peter 2:8-9 which states, “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Some are destined to disobey, but the elect are a chosen race. Who destined them to disobey if not God? Who chose this people if not God? If it was God who destined the stumblers to disobey, then is there hope for them at all? Did God indeed make them for destruction? Dagg wrote, “Those who are not included in the election of grace, are called, in Scripture, ‘the rest,’ and ‘vessels of wrath.’ Why they are not included, we are as unable to explain as why the others are included; and we are therefore compelled to refer the matter to the sovereignty of God, who, beyond all doubt, acts herein most wisely and righteously, !56 though he has not explained to us the reasons of his procedure.”22 " " This is known as the doctrine of reprobation. It is generally linked alongside of election. Those whom God elects experience salvation. Those whom God did not elect, and who are left to themselves, experience reprobation. " " According to Perkins, “Reprobation is that part of predestination whereby God according to the most free and just purpose of his will, hath determined to reject certain men unto eternal destruction, and misery, and that to the praise of his justice.”23 Proverbs 16:4 states, “ The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Revelation 13:7-8 states, “Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, " 22Dagg, 313-314. " 23Perkins, 1:106. !57 everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.” Again in Revelation 17:8 we read, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” It is clear from these texts that God chose not to write some individuals’ names down in the Lamb’s book of Life prior to the foundation of the world. If He chose not to write their name’s down, was their fate sealed by Him in eternity past? " " Jesus said in Matt 11:25-27, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the !58 Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus is clearly stating that the Father has hidden His message from some and revealed it to others. If God has hidden Christ’s message, who will be able to uncover that message? Jesus goes on to say that no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Did Jesus not come to reveal the Father to everyone? How could He choose to reveal the Father to some and not to others? Augustine wrote, “Christ by his secret dispensation hath out of an unfaithful people predestined some to everlasting liberty, quickening them of his free mercy; and damned others in everlasting death, in leaving them by his hidden judgment in their wickedness.”24 If the Father hides Christ’s message from some, and if Christ hides the Father from some by refusing to reveal Him, will these people ever repent? " 24William Perkins, A Treatise of the Manner " and Order of Predestination, and of the Largenesse of God’s Grace, in Works, 2:607. !59 " This sounds difficult to accept, that Jesus did not come to reveal the Father to everyone, but it is not an isolated text. In the high priestly prayer of Jesus Himself, we overhear His heart’s appeal to the Father. Listen to this appeal in John 17:9: “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” Jesus is specifically praying for those whom the Father has chosen before the foundation of the world to be the bride of Christ and no one else! There are those who are chosen and those who are not. There are those who will experience life and others who will experience reprobation. Those who experience reprobation do so because they have no desire to repent and submit themselves to the Lordship of Christ. Please do not miss this! They do not want Christ. They are happy to remain as they are. He is not forcing them to hell against their will. As Robertson pointed out, “When any man can demonstrate that a Divine decree forced him to choose to commit a sinful act, he shall be !60 at liberty to use it in argument.”25 They unknowingly rush headlong to judgement cursing Him (audibly or in their hearts) all along the way. Even in hell, they will not admit their sin and repent and look to Christ! " " No one goes to hell against their will. That is just it: we all follow the desires of the flesh unless Christ in His grace intervenes. Robertson said, “If by reprobation, it is understood that the Almighty, by an eternal decree, doomed men to everlasting punishment, irrespective of their character and works, we may very justly denounce the doctrine.”26 According to Dagg, “Sinful men are indeed reprobated, not by the election of grace, but by the justice of God.”27 " " " According to Beeke, “Reprobation involves two acts. The first act is God’s decision to glorify His justice by leaving certain men to themselves. This act is " 25Robertson, 44. ! 26Robertson, 187. ! 27Dagg, 320. !61 absolute, based on nothing in man but only the will of God. The second act is God’s decision to damn these men to hell. This second act is not absolute, but based on their sins.”28 No one goes to hell against their will! Neither does anyone go to hell apart from the sovereign power of God. To put it in a sentence: God is completely sovereign and yet men are responsible for their lifechoices." ! " ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 28Beeke, 128. !62 Chapter 5! ! " Objection 3: What about Free Will?! If God sovereignly chose us in Him before the foundation of the world based solely upon His good pleasure, and not because of any merit of our own, how does this affect our responsibility to choose Christ? Is our decision even valid? Dagg wrote, “If God’s word teaches the doctrine of election, and if it contains commands or invitations to all men to seek salvation through Christ, it is highly presumptuous in us to charge God with insincerity, because we cannot reconcile the two things with each other.”29 One of the dangers for those who have embraced and accepted the doctrine of election is that they can downplay our responsibility to repent and believe the Gospel. They can downplay our commission to issue the Gospel call to everyone. We do not find justification for these failures " 29Dagg, 319. !63 anywhere in scripture or in the attitude of Christ." " Jesus invites everyone in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus is calling people to repent and believe. He is warning people that the Kingdom of God is upon them. He is demanding their response. He is not passively letting them coast into hell. We see the apostle Paul as well reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks to respond to the Gospel (Acts 18:4). " " Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.” We read the invitation that concludes God’s Word in Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” We do not see a fatalist mentality in the Bible." " When people rejected Jesus, He always put the blame on their willful choice !64 to reject Him, not on anything decreed by God the Father. Jesus said in Matt 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” In John 5:40 He said, “you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” We are even told that He gives the right to become children of God to everyone who receives Him and believes on Him. John 1:12-13 states, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” All those who choose Christ, receive Him, and willingly believe on His Name are made children of God. But notice in verse thirteen, that even then, they are not born because of their will, but because of God. " " We are so quick to defend our freedom, our rights, and our will when it comes to salvation. Grudem points out, “We !65 might ask where Scripture ever says that our choices have to be free from God’s influence or control in order to be real or genuine choices.”30 How is it that God can be in control of everything on earth: the sun rising and setting, the rain falling, the winds blowing, the tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and even turning kings’ hearts in His hand, but He cannot be in control of us without being a tyrant? The answer can only be our arrogance. It seems quite prideful to me as well that we would be so quick to defend our free will when Jesus commanded us to pray “Thy will be done.” Maybe all of our objections would be answered if our lives were centered on His will rather than attempting to defend our free will. Robertson asks the one who would defend his free will and choice, “If it is your right and privilege, in the free exercise of your will, to choose God or not to choose " 30Grudem, 681. !66 Him, has He not an equal right and privilege to choose you or not to choose you?”31" " We are responsible for our choices. God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are taught side by side in the same Bible; sometimes, indeed, in the same text. Luke 22:22 states, “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” It was pre-determined that Jesus would be betrayed, but Judas would still be held accountable for willingly betraying Him. In Acts 2:23 we read, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Jesus was delivered up according to the purpose of God, but the Jews were guilty of crucifying Him. Just because God predestines something does not mean we are not responsible for our role in the reality. " " We must never forget or deny that left to himself, no fallen person would ever choose God. We have no desire for God and " 31Robertson, 197. !67 will not choose Christ unless first chosen by Him. Remember that Ephesians 2:1 states, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” A dead man does nothing unless, and until, He is revived. Robertson wrote, “Being freeagents, we are subject to all the momentous responsibilities of free-agency, and justly liable to the fearful consequences of our voluntary sins, and yet we have not the moral heroism to fight successfully against the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And the end of these things is death. What we need is the Spirit of grace to deliver the will from its slavish subjection to the unholy inclinations of our carnal hearts.”32" " We must also keep in mind that we do what we do because we desire to do so. Before Christ, we operate under our free will. That free will leads us into sin, iniquity, and transgression. We quite freely and willingly pursue the world, the flesh, and the devil. We pursue the lust of the flesh, the " 32Robertson, 50. !68 lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. No one is forcing us to do so. It is just our free will! But when God’s Spirit awakens us, opens our eyes, and penetrates our hearts, we then freely run to Christ. We freely repent and believe. We freely follow Him. No one is forcing us to do so. It is our desire, our choice, and our will to do so because God has transformed our wills. We do what we want to do in both cases, and are therefore responsible for our response to the gospel or our lack thereof. " " The fact of the matter is, we will not be saved unless we repent and believe. The scriptures make this abundantly clear. To quote Robertson again, “Perhaps you will say, that if God does not choose you there is no possibility of your being saved. I reply, that if you do not choose Him, there is no possibility of your being saved. Turn which way you may, if you object to election on the ground of freedom of will, you claim a prerogative which you are not willing to !69 accord to your Maker.”33 All men, everywhere, are commanded to repent and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to be saved! " " But I am not sure my faith is strong enough. You are right! In the words of Charles Munson, “Faith then saves the elect, not because it is a perfect virtue, but because it apprehends a perfect object ,which is the obedience of Christ. Whether faith is weak or strong does not matter for salvation rests on God’s mercy and promises.”34 According to Perkins, “God accepts the very seeds and rudiments of faith and repentance at the first, though they be but in measure as a grain of mustard seed.”35 We are commanded to respond, even if it is a poor response. Thankfully, because salvation is all of God’s " 33Ibid., 198. 34Charles Munson, William Perkins: " Theologian of Transition (PhD diss., Case Western Reserve, 1971), 100. 35Perkins, Golden Chaine, in Works, " 1:79-80. !70 grace, God can and does save us though our response is often weak." " Let me give you an inadequate, but hopefully helpful, illustration in order to attempt to make the point. Imagine that you are walking from your neighbor’s house one evening. You are in a hurry because you forgot to bring the desert to their party. They are waiting on you to walk across the yard, go inside, grab the desert, and hurry back so that everyone can eat. " " Desert is on your mind, and everyone else’s mind as well. Someone that you do not know is standing in the street in front of your house. They see that you are focused and intent on entering. They say to you, “Do not go inside that house.” What are you going to do? You have people waiting next door on you, your desert is inside, you are hungry, they are hungry, and there is a nut in the street telling you not to enter your own house. As a matter of fact, the guy looks a little strange, sounds a little strange, and acts a little strange. I would imagine that you !71 would try to move faster to get inside of the house, away from this stranger, and closer to your desert! " " However, what if that stranger showed you his badge revealing his identity as an undercover detective with the local police department? What if he then positioned you so that you could see through an open blind into your home? What if, through that open window, you were able to see that inside there were two armed men who had just escaped from prison? You would not continue your effort to enter your home, the stranger would immediately become your hero, and the desert would not look nearly as appetizing! " " The Holy Spirit does for us what the stranger does. He sends out the general call, “do not go that way! Come this way (to Christ).” Those who cannot see the truth keep willingly pursuing the desert thinking that the messenger and his message is strange. Unbeknownst to them, they are heading for death. " !72 " There are those however who hear the effectual call of the Holy Spirit. They see the authority of scripture and the motive of the messenger. The spiritual blinds are opened and they are able to see that the desert (sin) is not nearly as enticing now that they know what comes with it! So they willingly, gladly, obey the word of the stranger and live. " " In neither The difference is not in free will, but in sight, knowledge, and understanding. case was the will of the individual violated. The difference was not in free will, but in sight, knowledge, and understanding. The lost willfully rush into the wages of sin because they are blinded by the god of this world. The saved willfully run to Christ because the scales have fallen from their eyes. They are both free to do as they wish. The ability to !73 see is what makes the difference in what they will. " " Can you see? I am not asking you if you can see that you are, or are not, elect. I am asking you if you can see that you are a depraved sinner desperately in need Christ? In the words of Robertson, “It is not essential to your salvation that you should know or believe that you are one of the elect, but it is essential that you receive Christ by faith.”36 Turn from your sin and trust in Christ today! " ! ! ! ! ! ! " ! ! ! ! ! ! 36Robertson, 199. !74 Chapter 6! ! " Objection 4: How is this fair? ! One of the common objections to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and election is based upon the human idea of what is fair. It just is not fair for God to choose to elect some and, by default, choose not to elect others. Stop and take another breath and think at this point. Read and re-read this next statement. If we want God to be fair, then God would not save anyone. " " We must understand that it would be perfectly fair for God not to save anyone. What would be perfectly fair would be for God to do with humans what He did with the angels that rebelled: He saved none. Fair would be a holy and just God damning all of humanity. Fair would be choosing to save none. " " Think about this. If God saves some, it is not unfair. It is a demonstration of grace that goes far beyond the requirements of fairness and justice. Paul anticipated such an !75 objection, as he wrote Romans 9, so he answered it before we asked. Rom 9:20-24 states, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its If we want molder, ‘Why have you God to be made me like this?’ 21 fair, then Has the potter no right God would over the clay, to make not save out of the same lump anyone. " one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” In other words, don’t question God. He has every right to create some people for honored use and others for !76 dishonored use. In the words of John MacArthur, “God is never to be measured by any human standard, certainly not by the human standard of fairness which is also a reflection of man's fallenness. Are we so foolish as to assume that we who are fallen sinful creatures have a higher standard of what is right than an un-fallen and infinitely and eternally holy God? What kind of pride is that? Therein lies the real problem.”37 " " If we want to play the fair card, we have real problems! Was it fair that you were born in a nation where you could freely hear and respond to the Gospel? You could have as easily been born in Iran or Saudi Arabia, if God had not chosen to place you where He did. In the words of J.I. Packer, “You do not put it down to chance or accident that you attended a Christian church, that you heard the Christian gospel, that you had Christian friends, and perhaps, 37MacArthur, Chosen by God, Part 1 " (http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/60-2/ Chosen-by-God-Part-1). !77 a Christian home, that the Bible fell into your hands, that you saw your need of Christ and came to trust Him as your savior.”38 We have no problem giving God the credit for choosing our birthplace. We just have issue with giving Him the credit for our salvation!! " Furthermore, if God saved everyone, salvation would not be viewed as such a precious thing. I cannot think of a funeral that I have attended over the span of my life, in this modern world, in which the person being buried was not declared to be bound for heaven. Everyone has gone to heaven according to the pastor preaching the funeral, the family attending the funeral, and the friends observing the funeral. When an actor or entertainer dies from a drug overdose after a life of rampant sin, it seems to always be followed with the announcement that they are now in a better place. When an athlete dies in tragedy after a self-absorbed, Christ-less life, it is generally 38J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the " Sovereignty of God (Downers Grove: IVP, 1991), 12. !78 announced that they are now at peace. The mindset in our culture is that everyone who dies goes to some type of heaven and that God, if He exists, saves everyone. Consequently, salvation is taken for granted. God is presumed upon. Eternity is seldom considered as we rush through this life, living for the temporal. Salvation is taken for granted, just as the air we breath is so often taken for granted. " " The problem is, this mindset is dead wrong. People do go to hell. As a matter of fact, most people go to hell. Jesus said so himself. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” We know that many is more than few. More people will end in destruction than in life. In essence, at least 6 out of every 10 people are headed to hell. As long as people believe everyone is okay, salvation is not viewed as a precious thing. !79 There must be a display of God’s wrath and justice for God’s mercy and grace to be seen and appreciated." " The non-elect receive justice. The elect receive mercy. The important thing to note here is that no one receives injustice. God is not obligated to be merciful to any or to all alike. It is a faulty argument to think that if God is going to save some sinners, He is obligated to save all sinners. We really have no right to impose on God our intuitive sense of what is appropriate among human beings. Robertson wrote that, “We are hardly in a condition to render an impartial verdict, because man is a party interested in the decision. It is a rule in equity that a man is not to be the judge in his own cause.”39 We are fallen humans. He is holy God. He is always right and we are often wrong. Let us not appeal to our fallen, sinful, selfish definition of fairness as we object to God. " " Well, I don’t like this you might say. I respond, if God never rubs us the wrong " 39Robertson, 22. !80 way, it gives evidence that we have created Him in our own image. Dagg wrote, “If men will pronounce the character of God unnamable, because he is just, and dooms sinful beings to hopeless misery, they prove thereby that they do not love the God whom the scriptures reveal, and by whom they are to be judged. Their quarrel with the doctrine of election is, in truth, a quarrel with the justice of God, from which that election has not delivered them.”40 He continues, “Not content with the God whom the Bible reveals, and who does according to His pleasure in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, we carve out to ourselves a deity more amiable, in our view, than He.”41 Let us be careful that we do not recreate the God of the Bible into a god who operates according to our standards of fairness. " ! " 40Dagg, " 41Ibid., 320-321. 321 !81 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !82 Chapter 7! Objection 5: Why should we do missions if ! " all of this is true?! This question seems to be logical. However, when we think through this, the doctrine of election makes missions something that is doable. It is something that we are guaranteed to be successful at, not because of our eloquence or ability, but because God has chosen to save some. He has chosen people from every nation, tongue, and tribe and He has chosen you and I as the means to reach them. We are guaranteed a harvest no matter who we go to. The question is not “why should we do missions if all of this is true?” The real question is, “why should we do missions if all of this is NOT true?” " " Paul found hope and encouragement in this doctrine as he did missions. In 2 Tim 2:10 he wrote, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with !83 eternal glory.” He was suffering hunger, thirst, persecution, and hardship for the sake of the elect, that they may obtain salvation. " " In 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 he wrote, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” How did Paul know they were chosen? The fact that the Thessalonians believed the Gospel when he preached it (for our Gospel came to you…in power…and with full conviction). As soon as they came to faith, Paul concluded that long ago God had chosen them. Missions is simply playing a part in the eternal plan of God, to gather together all of His elect for His honor and glory. The elect will only be saved when they hear the gospel and respond, so we must carry them the gospel!" " Romans 10:13-15, 17 states, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 But how are they to call on him in !84 whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?...17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” This is God’s plan for reaching His chosen people: preachers are sent to preach the gospel in the hearing of men and women of all types and backgrounds. They are sent to issue the general, external call to all, in faith and assurance that the Holy Spirit will simultaneously issue the effectual, internal call to His chosen people. They will hear and believe and call upon His Name and be saved. Thus, the elect are brought into the family of God, justified, adopted, and glorified. This is God’s plan. This is His only plan! This is why we do missions. And this is how we are guaranteed success: because God does the saving, not us!" ! ! ! !85 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !86 Chapter 8! Objection 6: Why doesn’t this make sense? Why is it so hard to accept?! ! " Why is the doctrine of election so difficult for people, even professing Christians, to accept? Arthur Pink wrote, “No doctrine is so detested by proud human nature as this one, which makes nothing of the creature and everything of the Creator; yea, at no other point is the enmity of the carnal mind so blatantly and hotly evident.”42 There are at least three big reasons we cannot understand this doctrine. " " First, we are finite and cannot grasp the fullness of the infinite mind of God. Pink wrote, “It is not easy to arrive at a clear and adequate grasp of any of the great doctrines of Holy Writ, and God never intended it should be so. Truth has to be bought: alas that so few are willing to pay " 42Pink, 8. !87 the price.”43 Rather than dig into scripture to understand more of God and His gospel, we tend to make God in our image. According to Psalm 50:21, “These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.” God is not like we assume. He makes the rules. He defines fairness. He is sovereign. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” " " Because we have fallible minds, we struggle to understand the deep doctrines of scripture. We struggle to understand and accept the doctrine of election. Robertson made a great point when he wrote, “The word elect signifies to choose; and when we find the word in the Bible, this is the sense in which we should understand it. And if we find it apparently teaching a doctrine which " 43Ibid., 7. !88 we can not understand, or which we can not reconcile with other doctrines, or which is repulsive to our feelings, we are not at liberty to put a different meaning on the word, for this would be no better than making scriptures.”44 " " Another reason this doctrine is so difficult to understand is simply because we are fallen, and therefore we do not think pure divine thoughts. According to Romans 3:10-12, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” We are so corrupt, sinful, self-centered, and arrogant that we cannot even grasp His grace and goodness in election. " " Third, we find it hard to accept the sovereignty of God because we have been dramatically influenced by our culture. We, as products of our culture, have a very skewed view of God. We have created a God who is impotent, feminine, weak, and, above " 44Robertson, 186. !89 all, lives to serve us. He is there to help us, heal us, provide for us, and serve us. He is our heavenly bell-hop. We ring the bell of prayer “in faith” and God hops to it because, after all, God is most concerned with our happiness! God wants us to have our best life now. God is man-centered and everything He does is for us. Consciously in many cases, subconsciously in most cases, this is the God we have created. " " Because of our view of God, when someone points us to scriptures that would challenge our preconceived notions, and actually present us with a God who is sovereign, we recoil. We don’t want a God who is first and foremost concerned with His glory and His purposes. We want a God who is first and foremost concerned with us! We find it hard to accept a totally sovereign God. " ! ! ! ! !90 Chapter 9! Objection 7: If this is the Gospel, how can ! " it be good news?! The doctrine of God’s sovereign love is good news for several reasons. First, it brings man hope. It is good news because it means no unbeliever is so bad or has sinned too long and too deeply for God to save them. God’s election is not based on how much we do or do not sin. It is not based on anything we do or think or feel or choose. It is based on God’s sovereign good pleasure. No matter how bad we are, or our family is, there is hope that God can and will save! If God can intercept Saul on his way to murder Christians, and turn him into Paul, then He can do the same for our loved ones. " " Second, this doctrine of election is good because it brings God glory. The doctrine of unconditional election is good news because it preserves the praise of God’s glorious grace at every point in our salvation. He foreknew, He predestined, He !91 called, He justified, and He will glorify. It is all Him!" " " Third, it brings us true biblical assurance. When, by grace through faith, you know yourself to be loved, forgiven, justified, and accepted by God, this doctrine of election assures you that the roots of your salvation are deep. The roots of God’s almighty commitment to save you are not shallow, but go down deep into the counsels of eternity.45 If God predestined you, He has called you, justified you, and glorified you. You are eternally secure from the Father’s perspective and no one and nothing can unchoose you or pluck you from the Father’s hand." " Our very assurance, our very security as believers is rooted and grounded in the fact that our salvation is dependent upon God and not upon our performance. He is 45John Piper, from his sermon The Freedom " and Justice of God in Unconditional Election (http:// www.desiringgod.org/sermons/the-freedomand-justice-of-god-in-unconditional-election) !92 the author of our salvation and He will be its finisher. He is the one who began a good work in us, and He will be faithful to complete it. He is our rock and our fortress, and we are His chosen people, elect from before the foundation of the world, forever secure in His sovereign plan from eternity past." ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !93 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !94 ! ! ! ! ! ! Part 3! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The Final Straw! !95 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !96 Chapter 10! Acts 13:48 Hits Me!! ! " You may still be doubtful that this doctrine really exists so clearly in scripture. You may still be unwilling to accept the fact that you are not the reason for your salvation, or that you are eternally indebted to the God who chose you apart from any merit or worthiness of your own. I can understand your anguish. It was difficult for me to accept as well. I struggled through the Gospels, the letters, and over Jesus’ words for more than a decade before I finally had to accept the doctrine of election. The scripture that finally pushed me over the edge is found in Acts 13:48. This was the death blow to my fleshly, humanistic, man centered view of salvation. It says this: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” " " Stop! Read that again. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and !97 glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Notice something. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed. No one believed that was not appointed. Not one that was appointed failed to believe. There is really no other way to interpret this scripture, but that the conversion of those individual Gentiles was rooted in the election of God. " " I could not accept this, so I went and pulled another translation off of the shelf, then another, and finally another until I conceded. Every translation translated this verse in this order and in this way. " " If you have read the book of Acts before, you might be surprised that you never noticed this verse. Go look it up. Look at how discreetly it is placed in the text, almost as if it is expected. It is significant that Luke mentions the fact of election almost in passing. It is as if this were the normal occurrence when the gospel was preached. After searching the scriptures !98 from Genesis to Revelation, I have concluded that it was normal! " " Such a clear text should overthrow all of our objections and reservations. Dagg wrote, “No proof of its (election’s) truth can be equal to the testimony of the scriptures. Let us receive their teachings on the subject without hesitation or distrust; and let us require every preconceived opinion of ours, and all our carnal reasonings, to bow before the authority of God’s holy word.”46 He goes on: “Whatever may have been our prejudices against the doctrine of election as held and taught by some ministers of religion, it is undeniable, that, in some sense the doctrine is found in the Bible; and we cannot reject it, without rejecting that inspired book. We are bound by the authority of God, to receive the doctrine; and nothing remains, but that we should make " 46Dagg, 309. !99 an honest effort to understand it, just as it is taught in the sacred volume.”47" ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” ! " 47Ibid. !100 Chapter 11! ! " Church History ! As we look at two thousand years of Christian history we will find that the doctrine of election was embraced. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, The Puritans, The Pilgrims, forty-eight of the founding fathers, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, William Carey, Adoniram Judson (the first American foreign missionary), John L. Dagg (the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention), C.H. Spurgeon, Martin Lloyd Jones, as well as multitudes more, all embraced the doctrine of election. These men were not infallible. However, I had to ask myself: Am I more familiar with the Word of God and the God of the Word than they were? Am I more schooled in the scriptures than they were? " " When we adamantly deny the theology and doctrine of some of the mightiest Christian men in history we reveal our arrogance and our ignorance. God help !101 us not to overestimate our “wisdom” for, if we are honest, most of us have been discipled by Hollywood more than we have been discipled by the Word of God. Let us be careful that we do not overestimate our wisdom. " " ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !102 Chapter 12! ! " God’s Glory in Salvation! By neglecting, or rejecting this doctrine, we could have missed a very normal part of understanding the whole gospel. We could have also missed the great joy of knowing that our salvation is in the hands of a good God, not our fallen natures. Deep down, I think we know that God is sovereign over salvation, even if we are unwilling to admit it." " We practically live this doctrine out, even if we refuse to affirm it. In the words of J.I. Packer, “You give God thanks for your conversion. Now, why do you that? You know in your heart that God was entirely responsible for it. Your thanksgiving is itself an acknowledgment that your conversion was not your own work, but His work.”48 He goes on, “It never occurs to you to suppose that you saved yourself. You would never dream of dividing the credit for your " 48Packer, 12. !103 salvation between God and yourself. You give God all the glory.”49 Packer continues, “You pray for the conversion of others. You pray in categorical terms that God will, quite simply and decisively, save them: that He will open the eyes of their understanding, soften their hard hearts, renew their natures, and move their wills to receive the Savior. You ask God to work in them everything necessary for their salvation. When you pray for unconverted people, you do so on the assumption that it is in God’s power to bring them to faith.”50 The reason we think this way and pray this way is because we know Who is truly in control and Who holds us and our loved ones in the palm of His hand. " " Let us assume that we die tonight. There are two options. Option one is, we stand before God and discover that He is not truly sovereign over salvation. He was " 49Ibid. " 50Ibid., 15." " !104 sitting in heaven hoping, wishing, and praying (to someone) that we would just open the door of our hearts and let Him in. Our salvation was in our hands all along. Our souls were at the mercy of the cleverness of the evangelist and the pliable nature of our wills. That is option one. " " Option two is, we stand before God and discover that He is totally sovereign. He chose Himself a people from before the foundations of the earth according to the purpose of His grace. He came to this earth as the man Christ Jesus to atone for their sins. He sent the Holy Spirit to awaken them all and bring them to repentance and faith. He, by that same Spirit and through the Word of God, sanctified them all and brought them to glorification by His grace and power. " " These are the options that we have before us concerning God’s sovereignty. He is, or He is not. Assume that you stand before the God of option one: the God who wrings His hands hoping that you will let !105 Him into your life. How would this God respond to you if you, on judgment day, had to say “I gave you too much glory in my salvation because I embraced the doctrine of election. I gave you too much credit and honor and praise because I believed that salvation was wholly of grace.” " " Now, assume that you stand before the God of option two: the God of sovereign love. How would this God respond to you if, on judgement day you had to say, “I am sorry Lord. I took too much credit for my salvation. I gloried in my choices and decisions too much, when it was You and Your Sovereign hand all along. I am sorry.” If you were to err, which way would you rather be in error? Would you rather be wrong by giving God too much glory? Or would you rather be wrong by robbing Him of His glory? There can only be one answer. " " Embracing the doctrine of election glorifies God in every part of salvation. It magnifies His grace. It lines up with the whole counsel of God and, though it is !106 counter-cultural and difficult to accept at times, it is true. It has been shown throughout scripture in this little book. To quote Robertson again, “If they (scriptures) are not satisfactory without additional evidence, it appears to me the Embracing the doctrine fault must be in of election glorifies God the judge and not in every part of in the witnesses. salvation. The word of God is a sure word, and true from the beginning. If we will be guided by its light, it will always lead us to true knowledge; but if our aversion to the doctrines it reveals is such that we choose to walk in the darkness of our own speculations, we shall eventually see the end of our wanderings.”51 " ! " ! 51Robertson, 28-29. !107 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !108 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Part 4! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Dangers of this Doctrine! ! !109 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !110 ! I do not want to end this booklet without some warnings. It is important to guard against the dangers that can come from an unbiblical, twisted view of the doctrine of election. There are three major dangers that I want to address in these next few paragraphs. ! ! Danger 1: Fear! ! " Some people walk around with a fear that they are not “chosen.” After all, if I were doing the choosing, I would not have chosen me. The reason that these individuals experience such fear is that they are beginning at the wrong end of their salvation. 2 Peter 1:10, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Do not attempt to discern your election! Confirm it by responding obediently to Christ’s commands! We must make our calling sure before we can be assured of our election. " " " !111 " Richard Baxter wrote, “You begin at the wrong end, if you would first ask whether you are elected, that you may know whether you shall be saved; but you must first try whether you are converted and saved from the power of sin, and then you may certainly gather that you are elected and shall be saved from hell. Will you begin at the top of the ladder and not the bottom?”52 If you have repented and put your faith in Christ…if you are being sanctified by the Spirit and belief in the truth…then there is evidence that you have been chosen by God! Don’t start on the wrong end of salvation and try to do God’s job for Him." ! Danger 2: Presumption! ! " Another danger that I perceive comes from those who have been baptized as 52Timothy K. Beougher, Richard Baxter and " Coversion: A Study of the Puritan Concept of Becoming a Christian (Scotland, Christian Focus Publications, 2007) 77. !112 infants and/or have been involved in church their entire lives. They presume that because their parents are “Christian” then they also must be Christians. That is not how election works. Those who are saved are not saved because they look like good candidates for salvation. They are those who repent, put their faith in Christ, and cry out to Him until He transforms their lives! " " To quote Baxter again, “Never presume that you will achieve the ends without following the means that God has ordained. Those who dispute over election fall prey to this danger, saying, if God hath chosen us we shall be saved, and if He hath not, we shall not, whatsoever we do: no diligence will save a man that is not elected, and it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that showeth mercy.”53 Do not fall into this danger that Baxter describes. The elect are only saved by grace through faith, not by being chosen. Do not presume upon God, but rather repent " 53Beougher, 80. !113 and cry out to Him in faith until He gives you assurance that you are His child. " ! Danger 3: Fatalism! ! " A final danger that I want to warn you of concerning this doctrine, is fatalism. When we learn of the sovereignty of God, there is a tendency to so focus on the sovereignty of God that we fail to recognize the equally biblical truth of our responsibility. God’s sovereignty does not operate independently of our responsibility. Baxter said, “It is as true that God hath decreed how many years and days you shall live, as that he hath decreed whether you shall be saved. And I will refer it to your own reason, what you would think of the wit of that man that would give over eating and drinking, and say, God hath decreed how long I shall live, and if he have decreed that I shall live any longer, I shall, whether I eat and drink or not. And if he have not decreed that I shall live, it is not eating nor drinking !114 that will keep me alive? If you will say, If God have elected me, I shall be saved, and if he have not, I shall not, whatsoever I do; and therefore I am spared my pains; it is no wiser than to give over eating and drinking, because God hath decreed how long you shall live, or to give over traveling, because God hath decreed whether you shall come to your journey’s end. Will you be thus mad about the matters of your trades and callings in the world? Why do you not give over ploughing and sowing, and say, If God have decreed that I shall have a crop, I shall have one, whether I plough and sow or not; and if he have not, I shall not, whatsoever I do?”54 God is sovereign, but He sovereignly works in and through and by His people. We must be diligent to obey the scriptures (repentance, faith, and obedience) trusting God to do what is right. God is sovereign, but we have a responsibility to obey. When we do what we should do and trust Christ to do what he should do, it all works out for " 54Beougher, 80. !115 good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose." " These issues usually arise through the willful neglect of certain scriptures that seem to contradict our theology. We must be careful that we do not allow our theology to get in the way of the Bible. Do not neglect clear biblical texts because they make the promotion of your theology difficult. Immerse yourself in the gospel and work to share it.55" " In short, “No one should conclude that his present sins and unbelief prove him to be reprobate of God. Rather he should seek God’s grace and place himself under the means of grace, especially the preaching of the Scriptures.”56 Please keep exploring 55You can go to www.obliviousfilm.com " to see a 28 minute documentary on the gospel and go the following link to here a sermon that outlines the biblical gospel for more information: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp? SID=61141523181 " 56Beeke, 129. !116 the depths of the glorious gospel! The mysteries therein will keep us busy for eternity." " In light of the fact that some men might be tempted to conclude that, if elected, they will be saved, do what they will; and if not elected, they will be damned, do what they can, I want to end with another quote by Dagg. He wrote, “This objection to election applies equally to every part of the divine purpose, and proceeds on the supposition that God has predetermined the end without reference to the means by which it is to be accomplished.”57" Be careful that you do not allow your theology to get in the way of the Bible! ! " 57Dagg, 315. !117 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !118 Conclusion! ! " I would like to conclude with a series of statements from Girolamo Zanchi. These statements were made in response to critics who might say the doctrine of election is not important or necessary because it will only lead to doubts concerning assurance of salvation. His response is not only a good response to such a criticism, but a fitting conclusion and summary to this booklet. " ! He writes:" ! • God teaches us predestination in His Word, and we must not be ashamed of His doctrine but proclaim it with reverence and trust in His wisdom." • This doctrine humbles our pride and magnifies God’s grace, for it shows us that we can do nothing to save ourselves—God alone saves sinners." !119 • Faith by nature receives doctrines of God that it cannot see and fully comprehend by human reasoning." • Election comforts and sustains the saints with God’s unchangeable love for them when Satan attacks with doubts and accusations." • Predestination reveals the infinite glory and sovereignty of the eternal and unchangeable God so that we know Him and worship Him." • Predestination guards the gospel of salvation by grace alone." " • This doctrine brings us a vibrant vision of God’s special love for His people in Christ Jesus, which is the joy of His people and fuel of their love to Him." • Predestination moves God’s people to diligent holiness of life.58" ! 58Girolamo Zanchi, The Doctrine of " Absolute Predestination (Perth: R. Morrsion Jr., 1793), 97-107. !120 " This doctrine is important because it is in scripture. God would not have placed it in His Word if it was not of value for us. This doctrine is important because it reminds us that the roots of our salvation are deep! It gives us hope and assurance as we seek to share the gospel and obey the Great Commission. It gives us assurance of salvation as we come to grips with the fact that our salvation does not depend upon us, but upon Him. But, the doctrine of election does not save! Christ saves! Christ alone saves! If you have completed this book, whether or not you accept or reject my conclusions concerning this doctrine, my hope for you is that you will run to, and cling to, Christ alone. Turn away from your sin, your iniquity, and your transgressions. Change your mind about who you are, your desires, your beliefs, your attitudes, your passions, and your actions. Repent. Turn to Christ alone through faith. Trust in His atoning death, burial, and resurrection. Cling to Christ for He is our only hope. Do !121 not cling to your decision. Do not cling to a prayer you prayed or repeated. Do not cling to a baptism you experienced. Do not cling to a church membership that you have. Do not cling to your good works or your feelings. Cling to Christ!" " Be transformed by His grace and mercy. Be made a new creation today! How you respond to Christ is the most important decision you will ever make. Will you bow your knee to Him today afresh? Will you confess that He is Lord today? Would you deny yourself, die to yourself, and follow Christ anew today? Whether or not you accept or reject my conclusions concerning this doctrine, would you run to Christ hoping in the scripture: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37)." ! ! ! ! ! !122 Bibliography! ! Beeke, Joel. A Puritan Theology. Grand " " " Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, " " 2012. " ! Beougher, Timothy K. Richard Baxter and " " Conversion: A "Study of the Puritan " " " Concept of Becoming a Christian. " " " " Scotland, Christian Focus Publications, " " 2007." ! Dagg, John Leadley. Manual of Theolog: In " " Two Parts, Christian Doctrine and Church " " Order (1857). Charleston, The Southern " " Baptist Publication Society, 1859." ! Grude, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An "" " Introduction to "Biblical Doctrine. Grand " " Rapids: Zondervan, 1994." ! Munson, Charles. William Perkins: " " " " Theologian of Transition. PhD diss., Case " " Western Reserve, 1971. " ! Murray, Iain. The Puritans and the Doctrine of " Election in Puritan Papers, Volume One, " " 1956-1959, ed. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. " " Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2000. " !123 Packer, J.I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of " " God. Downers Grove: IVP, 1991. " ! Perkins, William. A Golden Chaine, or, The " " Description of Theologie, Containing the " " Order of the Causes of Salvation and " " " Damnation, in Works. 1:24." ! Perkins, William. A Treatise of the Manner and " Order of Predestination, and of the " " " " Largenesse of God’s Grace, in " Works, "" " 2:607." ! Pink, A.W. The Doctrine of Election. " " " " Memphis: Bottom of the Hill Publishing, " 2011." ! Robertson, Norvell. Handbook of Theology. " " Memphis: Southern Baptist Publication " " Society, 1894. " ! Webster, Noah. American Dictionary of the " " English Language 1828. San Francisco: " " Foundation for American Christian " " " Education, 2010. " ! Zanchi Girolamo. The Doctrine of Absolute " " Predestination. Perth: R. Morrsion Jr., " " 1793. !124