Wednesday, December 19, 2012

THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION


When we hear the word Predestination in our day, to many it has almost taken on
the connotation of being a dirty word. The prevalent view has shifted
from Sovereignty of God to choose, to the untenable view that Christ went to
the cross and atoned for the sins all mankind. That is to say, “every
single person in the entire world has had their sins atoned for.
” But the
reality is that atonement means, “to satisfy divine justice for our sins“,
and so how could it be possible that this satisfaction (or the value of that
atonement) was insufficient to Save all? Indeed, how could Christ have borne
all of mankind’s iniquity in His flesh, and died with those iniquities, and
yet most of mankind still have those iniquities? ..it makes no biblical, or
even logical sense. These people have obviously come to an erroneous conclusion
based on unbiblical assumptions. Christ did not bear man’s sins one and all,
He bore the sins of only those whom the Father, in His divine Sovereignty,
chose. He bore the sins of “All” His people, not all People.
Matthew 1:21
  • “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
    Jesus: for he shall Save His people from their sins.”
And that is exactly what He did! This is the only view which is consistent
with all of scripture in it’s context, and the Sovereignty of God to Save
whoever He chooses by Grace alone. He does not save by any effort (work) on
our part to decide to choose Him. It was by the Sovereign pre-determination
by God, that He would bring who He will (for His own purposes) to Salvation.
In a word, Predestination!
The fact is, Predestination is not a foreign or dirty word, it is very much
a Biblical word. It was not invented by theologians to support their
doctrines, it’s the precise word that God inspired to be used. Predestination
is the Greek word [pro-or-id'zo], meaning to have been pre determined
or destined before hand. God knew exactly what He wanted when He inspired this
word to be used. Though many theologians in our day have developed a
distaste for the word, and thus work overtime trying to strip it of it’s
efficacious meaning, the word stands in stark testimony against man’s
attempts at wresting. Though people squirm in their seats at the sound of it,
and look at you as if you’ve uttered a horrible thing, God is not mocked.
The reason for this disdain is that the Church today doesn’t really like what
it stands for, and it thus makes them uncomfortable! For in their heart they
don’t want a God who says that “He” pre-determined things ahead of time. They
don’t want a Sovereign God, they want a god who reacts to their work instead.
They want a god that will let them be the one to get the glory of having
chosen God themselves, without any help from Him. But a Sovereign God who has
Predetermined ahead of time who will be Saved, is a God that won’t allow man
to glory in himself! And that is why many look to redefine the word, and in
essence, redefine God. For whether we like it or not, this Sovereign God is
the God of the Bible,” and any other god is one of their own making.
Romans 8:28-30
  • “And we know that all things work together for good to them that
    love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
  • For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
    conformed
    to the image of His son, that he might be the
    firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did
    predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them
    He also justified: and whom He justified, them he also
    glorified.”God did five things here for those He elected unto Salvation. He Foreknew
    them, He predestinated them, He called them, He justified them, and He
    glorified them.Man in his pride and arrogance will take the clear language of the scriptures,
    and by rationalizing or wresting them, vainly attempt to make it not say
    what God obviously inspired to be penned. But if a Christian can’t believe
    what is written, what can he believe? God’s word is clear that He foreknew,
    or in other words, “knew all of us ahead of time.” And He “also” Predestinated,
    or Pre-Determined that those He foreknew, would become like Christ. In other
    words, that we would be born from above in the image of Christ. Note that it
    doesn’t say that God foresaw that we would be good, or that we would choose
    Him, and so He then acted accordingly. This of course is what some people
    teach, but it’s the private or personal interpretation of this verse, not
    at all what the verse itself says, nor a myriad of other scriptures. God
    had foreknowledge that there was none that seeketh after Him, there was
    none that doeth good.Jeremiah 17:9
    • “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:
      who can know it?”
    That is what God had foreknowledge of. We see the whole of scripture
    full of evidence for God’s sovereign election, but we see no scripture
    at all which says, implies, or aludes to God saving man based upon his
    own work of accepting Christ. Quite the contrary. Furthermore, it
    contradicts many other scriptures, thus violating the most basic rule
    of sound hermeneutics. Namely, “no scripture can make another scripture
    untrue, or void.” For if God foresaw all of us ahead of time, then what
    He obviously foresaw was that there was not one of us
    which would seek after him.
    Psalms 53:2-3
    • “God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if
      there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
    • Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy;
      there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
    That is what God found when He looked and foresaw what man would be. He
    foresaw that there is none good, there is none righteous, there is none
    that seeketh after God. Therefore for a Christian to conclude that God
    chose us based upon our seeking Him is a untenable and unbiblical
    position. What God foresaw and knew ahead of time, was that we were all
    filthy and desperately wicked. God saw us for just what we were. Dead
    in trespass and sin wherein we were constantly in rebellion against Him.
    Yet He, of His own Sovereign good will and for His own purposes,
    foreseeing this, ‘also’ chose to Predestinate some of us to be conformed
    to the image of Christ, reborn into new creatures regardless of our
    filthiness or our inherent refusal to seek after Him.
    James 1:18
    • “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we
      should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
    This is the love of God that he beget us of His own free will, not ours.
    It’s not a question of if God says that he predestinated us to be conformed
    to Christ’s image, there is no question that He says that. There is also no
    question that God “doesn’t” say that He foreknew someone would choose Him and
    therefore predestinated us according to that (an incomprehensible doctrine).
    We were not justified by our work which God “saw” ahead of time (anti-Grace),
    God says He predestinated us, and also called us, and also Justified us. We
    can never be justified by what God saw (our works), we are justified by
    unmerited favor of God. We are justified by the work of Christ, which is
    by Grace alone.
    Ephesians 1:5
    • “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by
      Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of
      His will.
    We were predestinated unto adoption as children. And note again,
    unambiguously and concisely, God says He Predestinated us not according to
    our own (supposed) free will, but God says He predestinated us according
    to the good pleasure of His own will!
    These are not
    isolated or ambiguous passages subject to personal interpretation, God
    says these things clearly, again and again. It is not by the free will
    of man, it never was, and it never will be. In how many different ways
    does God have to say it before man gets the picture?
    John 1:13
    • “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
      nor of the will of man, but of God.”
    We had no free will to be saved, our will apart from the working of
    Christ in us is unto bondage to the flesh, that we desire our own will.
    If we were predestinated according to man’s will, we would never seek
    after God at all. There would be no Salvation. It is only by the Grace
    of God that we believe, and this because God ordained it. As is clearly
    written.
    Acts 13:47-48
    • “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be
      a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the
      ends of the earth.
    • And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the
      word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
    The idea that God predestinated us according to our own free will to
    choose life is another contradiction of God’s Word. It wasn’t because
    of our will (which is to do what ‘we’ want), it was just as God states,
    “according to the good pleasure of His will.” ..Grace Alone!

    Predestinated According to Free Will?
    There are many misguided Theologians who will argue precipitously that,
    “yes God predestinated us, but He did it according to our free will.” But
    the scripture references of Ephesians 1:5 will not allow such a theory.
    In context, it is clear that it’s His Choice, and not our own. The
    preceding verses make that clear. Ephesians 1:4
    • “According as He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of
      the world,
      that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
    Not according as He had foreseen ‘us’ make the choice, but according as
    ‘He’ chose us. He Pre-determined that we would become adopted sons by
    Christ, and those predetermined, were determined according to what God
    wanted, not what they wanted.
    Moreover, you cannot be predetermined “to be” something by the will
    of God, and yet be something by your own free will. i.e., by who’s
    will was it anyway? God says by His will, man says no, by his free will.
    That is both illogical and irrational. If God predetermined thousands
    of years ago that you would be an adopted son, and made you conform to
    Christ, then how did you freely choose today to be (or not to be) that
    son conformed to the image of Christ? It’s confusion! But man in his
    arrogance and pride, rather than just simply receive the gracious gift
    of God, he instead fights the truth of scripture in vain efforts to
    rationalize away the text, or to reinterpret it any way which conforms
    to his humanistic reasoning. To say “we were Predestinated because
    God knew we would choose Him”
    , is ridiculous and tortuous of
    scripture. If that were the case then we were not predetermined, God
    merely saw our own good work of Choosing and thus Saved us accordingly.
    That’s Salvation by our deeds, which any way that you slice it, cannot
    be Grace!
    Romans 11:6
    • “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no
      more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work
      is no more work.”
    We can’t have it both ways, where God saw our good works and chose us, and yet
    it still be by Grace. And to say, “God chose us because he foreknew that we would
    choose Him
    “, makes a mockery of what God actually said there. For if God Chooses
    us because we choose Him, then it’s not really God’s choice, is it? We’re
    the ones doing the choosing. These Theologians are making a mockery out of
    the word ‘Chosen,’ just as they have of the word Predestinated!
    Psalms 65:4
    • “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach
      unto thee,
      that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with
      the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”
    John 15:16
    • “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
      that ye should go and bring forth fruit,
      and that your fruit should
      remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
      give it you.”
    John 15:19
    • “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but
      because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
      world,
      therefore the world hateth you.”
    Matthew 22:13-14
    • “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot,
      and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
      weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  • For many are called, but few are chosen.”This is the mockery that man makes of God’s use of the word Chosen.
    Man in his pride and arrogance would change this to many are called,
    but few make the choice. The ultimate in wresting God’s Word to make it
    conform to the philosophies of man. The truth is, Predestinated by God
    is really the only way it could be. For we cannot be Saved by any merit
    of our own efforts in choosing God. For in saying this, what man would
    actually be saying is, “while all those others sinners wouldn’t freely
    choose God, I, being better, did and am rewarded.
    ” Again, that’s the
    merit system which is opposite of Grace. We cannot be Saved because we
    do something to merit it, and we cannot be Saved because we make more
    righteous decisions than the next guy. And that’s exactly what it would
    be if we indeed are the ones who choose God and thus gain Salvation
    because of that deed. There is none of us who would of his own seek
    God. And that’s not rhetoric, that’s God’s declaration of our spiritual
    condition before He saves us.Romans 3:10-12
    • “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
    • There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
      God.
    • They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
      unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one”.
    How can these Theologians logically believe that there are some who
    understand, or there are some who of their own free will seek God, or that
    there are some who choose to do the right thing? God says no, there is “not
    one!” The natural man doesn’t like God saying that, and so pretends it’s
    really not applicable! But the Biblical facts are, we only have virtue to
    choose to come to Christ because God in His sovereignty gave it to us, and
    drew us to Himself. Like the Woman who touched the hem of His garment, He was
    the one out of whom the virtue came. We will not seek God without His pulling
    us. We understand that all these scriptures are true, and we will not of our
    own free will seek God. So then God Himself, through no merit of ours, but
    by His own sovereign will, and for His own purposes (Grace), draws us.
    John 6:44
    • “No man can come to the Me, except the Father which hath
      sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up
      at the last day.”
    And for emphasis that word translated draw there is more accurately “drag.”
    These Theologians read that, but unfortunately they don’t hear it because
    they don’t really like what Christ tells them. There is none righteous, there
    is none that seeketh after God, there is none that understandeth. We’re all
    like a bunch of snakes. But if we are all like this, then why does one come
    to Christ and the other one does not? Here we have our answer. It’s because
    the Father of His own free will seeks them, and draws them. As it is
    written.
    Ezekiel 34:11-12
    • “For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both
      search my sheep, and seek them out.
    • As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his
      sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver
      them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and
      dark day.”
    Luke 19:9-10
    • “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this
      house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
    • For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
    There is none that seeketh after God, and so God seeks after them.
    And no man can come to Christ unless the father does this. Some
    Theologians retort, ‘Yes, but we must first receive him.’ However,
    the Biblical fact is that man cannot receive Him of his own.
    John 3:27
    • “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be
      given him from heaven.”
    How then can man first receive when no man can receive, and how then can
    man first seek Christ of his own “supposed” free will, when no man can
    come? The answer of course is that, he can’t! It is an unmerited gift
    given of God. Not because man deserved it by choosing, but simply by
    the unmerited Grace of God.
    Ephesians 2:8-10
    • “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
      yourselves: it is the gift of God:
    • Not of works, lest any man should boast.
    • For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
      which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
    Our good works God hath long ago ordained that we should walk in them. Not
    of our own free will or our own good works, but by the work of Christ.
    Almost everyone who calls themselves a Christian will mouth the words, “we’re
    Saved by the Grace of God
    ,” but in real application they deny it because
    they don’t truly understand what Grace is. It is undeserved, unearned, unmerited
    favor. In other words, a completely free Gift. Do we really know what a truly
    free gift is? It is a gift that you didn’t have to pay for by choosing it, and
    that you didn’t get because you asked it, it was simply given with no
    strings attached! That’s Grace! If the gift has strings attached, then it’s
    not really free! This is what these theologians “CHOOSE” not to understand.
    If I offer a gift but say, ‘first you must come choose it,’ then it’s not
    free. The price of this gift is you coming to choose it! If the gift is
    qualified by some deed, then it’s not a free Gift, as the person giving it
    is indebted to give the gift “only if” (dependant upon) you do certain
    things. That’s not Grace, that’s debt! And God makes that abundantly clear,
    if we will receive it.
    Romans 4:4
    • “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
      debt”.
    The true gospel is a gospel of Grace, not debt. It’s God’s sovereign will
    to choose whoever He wants to bestow His free gift upon. Not because we
    said the sinners prayer, not because we chose to come, but because God
    was merciful to Choose to Save us despite that fact that we would not seek
    Him. That is what that verse means when it says “..According to the good
    pleasure of His will.” We didn’t repent because we were sorry for our sin,
    we were sorry for our sin because God gave us repentance.
    Acts 11:18
    • “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and
      glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted
      repentance unto life.”
    2nd Timothy 2:25
    • “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
      peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”
    We repent because God gives us repentance. To this end were we called
    and predestinated (God’s word, not mine) according to the sovereign
    good will of God to do so. Does God have the divine right to pre-determine
    who He wants to Save? Of course He does, it’s His good pleasure to do so.
    Who are we to argue (with God) and say it’s not fair, or not righteous
    because “we should” be the ones to choose Him and get the Glory? But
    that’s exactly what man says. God doesn’t move by what we think is right
    in our own eyes, He moves according to what is right in His
    eyes. By His will, not our will. Again God makes that clear:
    Ephesians 1:11
    • “In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
      predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh
      all things after the counsel of His Own Will.”
    Again, that’s God’s Word, not theologians! We have already been Predestinated
    to Salvation. Who predestinated us to salvation, and why is explained here
    very plainly. It was according to the purpose of God, not according to our
    choosing. In other words, as stated, for the purpose of His Counsel and that
    His will be done. That’s why we were predestinated. Not at all because we
    choose of ourselves to do something according to our counsel, or our
    purposes, or our will. We were chosen, we love Him not because we are
    virtuous, but because He first loved us (1st John 4:19). By Grace we
    are saved from before the foundations of the world. We should give
    Glory to God for His mercy wherein when we were yet dead in trespass
    and sin, He, having foreknowledge of this, saw fit to Save us anyway.
    It is ‘He’ who causes us to hear, react, come, and walk in His laws.
    Ezekiel 36:26-28
    • “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
      within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and
      I will give you an heart of flesh.
    • And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
      statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
    • And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and
      ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
    When God looked through time, He saw we wouldn’t come to Him (as
    scripture states there is none that seeks after God
    ) so He drew us
    to him by His own power! He Caused or made us to walk in His will.
    That is what we call a ‘Merciful’ God. We shouldn’t think that God is
    unrighteous because He calls one to Salvation, and not another. Because
    we all by right should end up in Hell, and not one could protest that
    he didn’t deserve it. But God in His Mercy has seen fit to Save some
    simply by His Grace. He’s not then unrighteous in doing so, or unfair, or
    anything that man does imagine in the wickedness of his heart. In fact,
    this very scenario and question is answered in Romans 9:15. We should
    all read and consider this very carefully. It is talking specifically
    about this topic of Election (being Chosen of God), and speaking
    of Jacob and Esau. God says He hated Esau before he was even born! We
    might (in our human minds) ask, how is that fair? Esau hadn’t done either
    Good or evil, and yet God hated him before He was born. God anticipates
    this question by man.
    Romans 9:14-16
    • “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?
      God forbid. For He saith unto Moses, I will have mercy on
      whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion of whom
      I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
      willeth,
      nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth
      mercy.”
    There it is! It’s not because of what I think, or what I do, or what you
    do, or our deeds, or education, or heritage, or our good choosing that God
    decides to have compassion on us. It’s by God’s Election, or God’s choice,
    before we were even born (as the verses we already read of predestination,
    before). God says, I will have compassion on whoever I will have
    compassion, and I will have mercy on whoever I will have Mercy. He’s
    saying very clearly that it’s His Sovereign Right as God to save
    whosoever He wants regardless of what they have done or not done. Regardless
    of circumstances of Jacob or Esau doing any evil. He declared the end from
    the beginning, ordaining that His will would stand and Jacob would become
    Saved. Because He loved him. It’s not a matter of if God says these things,
    but one of if we will believe Him.
    Isaiah 46:10
    • “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times
      the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and
      I will do all my pleasure:”
    From the beginning Jacob was Loved and esau hated, and God’s counsel
    ordained to stand that “His will’ be done, not the alleged free will
    of man. But the thinking of the Church today is carnal, that this
    type action by God is somehow not fair. They think, Why Does God
    then find fault with people if He Saved one ahead of time?
    (..man is questioning God at this point, as if He is the suspect of some
    crime
    ). The unfaithful church today does this continually in order
    to try and get sympathy for their views. But let’s go directly to God
    and get His Answer for us. It continues..
    Romans 9:19
    • “Thou wilt say then unto Me. why doth He yet find fault?
      For who hath resisted His will?
    • Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?
      Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast
      thou made me thus? Hath not the Potter power over the clay;
      of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another
      unto dishonour?
    That’s God’s answer to man! God replies, “Who are you to question Me!
    We can’t question God as if we think Him unrighteous if He does this!
    He is not the suspect of some crime. We are the criminals, and He is
    the lawgiver! We are the clay, He is the Potter! Who are we to
    reply against God and insinuate that Predestination or being Chosen
    (Election) before we were born is somehow unrighteous? No it’s
    not unrighteousness! God is infinitely wiser than we are. As the potter, He
    made us! Election or predestination is clearly taught throughout the
    Bible, and there is no way of getting around it without verbal acrobatics.
    He will do according to His will, not ours.
    Daniel 4:35
    • “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing:
      and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among
      the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say
      unto him, What doest thou?”
    Who can say, what are you doing God? So unless we wrest or twist the
    scriptures in a deceitful unbiblical manner, we must come to the
    conclusion that Man is Saved not because he decides of his own will
    he wants to be, but because God decides or chooses according to his
    will. It’s God’s sovereign right to Save whatever pot He wants, and not
    to save whatever pot He wants. Man has no right to say this is not righteous.
    Who are we to question it. And this is exactly what God is saying here
    in this verse. And if we study the whole chapter carefully, in
    context, and are honest with ourselves, we will see that these things
    are true.

    But what about those verses which say all?
        There are certain verses in scripture which use the word All, that are often
    used in the attempt by some Theologians to deny the doctrine of
    Predestination. For example, John 12:32
    • “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
      me”.
    These theologians claim that this means that all men (everyone in the world) will
    be drawn to Christ. First of all this idea is contrary to everything else
    that the Bible says. Such as, “no man can come to me except the father
    which sent me draw him, and I will raise Him up at the last day.” If this
    idea were true, all men would be Saved and raised up on the last day. We
    then become universalists.
    The fact is, the word “all” is usually qualified. In John 12:32 it’s used to
    qualify the fullness of men who believe. i.e., all men without distinction,
    not all men without exception. Note, this does not change the definition of
    the word all, it is simply qualified.
    The question we must answer is, does the word “all” always mean all of
    everything in scripture, or is it usually qualified? Does “all” always mean
    every single man without exception, or is what it may cover defined by Bible
    context and reference? Let’s look at just a few of many examples. Because
    the scripture plainly answer this question.
    Mark 1:5
    • “And there went out to him all the land of Judea, and
      they of Jerusalem and were all baptized in the river
      Jordan”
    Most certainly not every single man, woman, and child (bar none) in the
    Land of Judea went to get baptized that day. It would be ludicrous for any
    Theologian to make such a statement. Therefore, we must understand without
    prejudice that the “all” there, is qualified.
    John 8:2
    • “And early in the morning he came again into the temple,
      and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and
      taught them.”
    Again, the “all” is qualified. Even though it says all, it doesn’t in any
    sense mean that every single person there came to listen to Jesus. They could
    not all fit into the Temple. We understand clearly that the all is qualified.
    Acts 22:15
    • “For thou (Paul) shalt be a witness unto all men of what
      thou hast seen or heard.”
    Matt 10:22
    • “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.”
    John 3:26
    • “And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, he
      that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest
      witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men came
      to him.”
    In all these scriptures we see clearly that the word all does not in
    these instances mean every man without exception. Either the word
    “all” is being used in a sense of a hyperbole, referring to a very
    large number but not everyone without exception, or it is being used
    to speak of all men without exception. And so for a Theologian to make
    an all inclusive statement that “all” must mean everyone, or should be
    understood in scripture to mean all men on the earth, is a misnomer.
    As has been shown, it is clearly an untenable position.
    As a practical example, If I were to say, “all the children rode the
    Bus to school
    “. That is an absolutely true statement. But it doesn’t
    mean all the children in the world, and it may not even mean all the
    children at the school. It could mean all the children in a town who ride
    the bus. i.e., like in scripture, the “all” is qualified! The word hasn’t
    changed in meaning, it still means all, but it is qualified by what “all”
    we are talking about. Likewise, drawing all men unto Christ is qualified.
    It is not all men without exception, it is all men without distinction.
    From every race and nation, all who will ever be risen in Christ. It does
    not (nor could it, without contradiction) mean every single person in the
    entire world! It’s the all who God says in John 6:44 can only come to Him
    if God draws them. Obviously, all men will not be drawn. Else why would
    God say no man can come unless he is drawn of God.

    What about the verses that say “world?”
    The same Theologians look at the verses which use the word world in them,
    and they do the same thing, not understanding (or in some cases, not wanting
    to understand) that those verses are also qualified. Verses like, John 4:42
    • “And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy
      saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed
      the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
    John 2:2
    • “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but
      also for the sins of the whole world.”
    They look at these verses (and verses like them) and say, Christ is the
    Saviour of everyone in the world, not just an elect. But that’s not what
    it say. God could have very easily inspired the words “every person in
    the whole world” to be penned there, but He did not because that is not
    what He is saying. The words “whole world” is qualified. Not that the
    word is changed, Christ is indeed the Saviour of the whole world, and
    indeed the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. But not “everyone
    in” the whole world. Again, not everyone in the world without exception,
    but everyone in the world without distinction. All the world who will ever
    have their sins propitiated (Jew, Roman or Greek), will have them propitiated
    by Christ.
    Obviously some Theologians have not thought this out carefully. For if
    indeed John 2:2 was saying not our sins only, but also the sins of the
    whole world, it would mean that they were contrasting their sins, from
    the whole world. Meaning, the whole world is different from them.
    This very verse defines what is being talked about when it says that not
    only for us (the Jewish world) but also of the whole world (the
    gentile world also
    ). That’s obviously what is being said. Not all the
    Jews, and not all the Gentiles, but all those for whom Christ died. For if
    Christ is the propitiation for the sins of every single man and woman in
    the entire world, then by definition there is no one in the entire world
    who has any sin left. Thus all would be Saved because Christ would have
    satisfied the requirement for their sins. Consistently, this idea of paying
    for the sins of everyone without exception, an untenable position.
    For He was only the propitiation for the sins of those who were
    risen with Him, washed clean in His Blood. Obviously, that’s not every jew
    in the world, nor every gentile in the world, but everyone in the world for
    whom He died. Not the Jewish world only, but the Gentile world also.
    This is also illustrated in another verse which uses this word world.
    2nd Corinthians 5:19
    • “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the WORLD unto
      himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
      committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
    This verse can “not” mean every man in the world without exception, because
    we know that every man in the world will not be Saved, and every man in the
    world will not have their trespasses “not imputed” unto them. On the contrary,
    Hell will be heavily populated! It means both Jews and Gentiles and every
    nation and tongue will have Salvation (the will not have their sins imputed
    unto them
    ). The meaning becomes obvious when we are not predisposed to
    not receiving what scripture says. Man attempts to circumvent God’s Word,
    but the truth of it is clear. God’s Sovereign Predestination reaches to the
    whole world, not just to the Jewish people. That is the mystery (Col. 1:26-27)
    which was revealed to the Apostles. salvation to the whole world, not just
    to the Jews.

    How Do I know if I am Predestinated?
    The fact is, God calls all of us to Salvation. The question is not
    “am I predestinated?” That God’s business! The question is, why don’t I
    answer the call? If I answer the call, then I will be Saved, and I
    then know that I was predestinated. Those who ignore the call to
    Salvation could care less that they were not predestinated. The unsaved
    are not sitting around thinking, “Gee, I sure wish I was
    predestinated.
    ” Not at all! It’s only the arrogant Church which is
    arguing about the unfairness of Predestination. But who is being short
    changed here? No One! For all the true believers are Saved, and the
    unbelievers don’t want to be Saved. So who is shortchanged by
    Predestination? Anyone who comes to Christ, He will in no wise be cast
    out. That’s a fact! If they come, then they were predestinated. Christ
    says Knock, and it will be opened unto you. If they knock, then they
    were predestinated. But the unfaithful church in vanity is upset because
    it denies them the glory of saying they did something or that they had some
    responsibility for their being Saved. In simple language, they want
    some credit (Glory). Predestination strips them of their Glory in having
    Chosen God, and places it where it belongs. All Glory to God for having
    Chosen Me! That’s why they look at predestination as some horrible
    unrighteous thing. But the age old adage still rings as profound, true
    and wise as it always has..

    “Predestination keeps no one out of heaven, but it keeps a
    multitude out of Hell.”

    -WiseManSay
    No man can say he is not going to heaven because of Predestination. The fact
    is, they are not going to heaven because of their sin. Their judgment
    has nothing to do with them being predestinated to Hell. They are going
    to Hell because of “their own sin.” And try as they may to place the blame
    on God, it lies squarely at their own feet. The fact that there is none that
    seeketh after God, is man’s sin, not God’s. Therefore, there is not one who
    can righteously complain about unfairly being cast into Hell.
    Predestination is God’s Business. Our business is to spread the Gospel
    that many might hear and be Saved. We are the vessels God uses to get
    the Job done. Our labor is in making sure that we are truly saved, and not
    just kidding ourselves. The way to make sure is to make sure we follow (not
    lead) the Word of God. We keep it faithfully.
    2nd Peter 1:10
    • “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make
      your calling and Election (Being Chosen) sure: for if ye
      do these things, ye shall never fall:”
    My friends, there is a great fall because the Church in large part has not
    made it’s calling and Election sure. Jesus says, He that says he knows Me,
    and keepeth not My commandments is a liar, and the truth is not
    in Him. Those are strong words! Those are ominous words! But the
    Church continues to say, “have no fear, you shall have Peace and
    Safety, and no evil will come upon you.” But we simply cannot eschew the
    Sovereignty of God in teaching that Salvation is in our hands and not God’s.
    Being predestinated is not a dirty word, it is the Word of God. People
    don’t like it because they want to keep their pride (Charitably called,
    self respect
    ). They want to think they had something to do with their
    Salvation, when in fact it was All God’s doing. 100 percent, All, Total,
    whatever you want to call it that signifies completely! God did it all.
    He saw you, He called you, He caused you to hear, He drew you to knock,
    and He opened unto you. It’s not the other way around, where you knocked
    and He heard “your” voice. No, you heard His voice because He gave you ears
    to hear, and then you knocked. Read the scriptures carefully. Face the
    biblical facts, you were Predestinated and Called according to God’s
    Sovereign will, or else you are not called and predestinated unto
    Salvation.
    Predestination is not a private interpretation, it’s a fact of scripture,
    Just as sure as the scriptures are true and trustworthy, Predestination
    is the fact that is written therein! God said it, He explained it, we
    believe it! ..who are we to reply against God about it’s fairness. Who are
    we to argue with righteous God? Who are we to question God about it? I am
    no one to question God about what He says! ..Who are you?
    Peace,
    Copyright ©1993 Tony Warren For other studies free for the Receiving, Visit our web Site
    The Mountain Retreat! http://www.mountainretreatorg.net

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