Chapter 13.16
Devine Election
If
God’s is sovereign and our life predestined, why does it matter what we do?
Why
struggle with religion or with God if whatever will be will be?
First Word
An
Angel told Paul, none of the men on the ship would be lost in the
storm. All 276 men in the ship were Divinely Elected to be saved from the
storm … IF…
they did what they were told. However
they all still had to go through all the toil, stress,
exhaustion and turmoil
to be saved.
The
“decree” and the “struggle” go hand in hand. We have the decree… then
we do what the Bible
says… then we struggle…
then success.
Acts 27:22-44 – Stay
with the word of God and you will be saved
22 But now I
urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will
be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. ….Then Paul said to
the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men
stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” We took such a violent
battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo
overboard. ….On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with
their own hands..... Now I urge you to
take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head…
Altogether there were 276 of us on board…. Once safely on shore, we found out
that the island was called
NIV
Joseph
had a dream that he would be a ruler, but he had to “struggle”
with the hatred of his brothers… thrown in a well… sold
to a Ishmaelite caravan… sold again to Potiphar…
promoted…
then thrown in prison… then finally promoted again to second in charge of Egypt
By God’s Devine election, Joseph’s predestination was solely fulfilled, but
not without the “struggle.”
Genesis 37:5-36 – Joseph stayed with the dream
5 Joseph had a
dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the
more… "Do you intend to reign over
us? Will you actually rule us?"…
Then he had another dream…What is this
dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow
down to the ground before you...
"Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that
a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."
…
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the
cistern and sold
him for twenty shekels of silver to
the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. …
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold
Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain
of the guard. NIV
Devine
Election
God elects to save some and
send others to hell… What a heavy statement! Doesn’t the potter have the right to make a
utensil for worship and a different one
for feeding the puppies? Actually, we are all damned to Hell; but some
received Grace
and the rest received justice.[1]
The scriptures say “God is not a
respecter of persons”,[2] all
are treated the same, therefore he does not predestine some to hell and some
not; that would be DOUBLE
PREDESTINATION since all are already damned to hell. Devine election along with Free Will are both taught in the scriptures.
Devine
election in the Scriptures seem
to apply only to the Jew, not to the Gentiles.
ü
God chose Abraham, who did not know him, to be
set apart - God’s Election
ü
He chose his younger son over his older son to be
blessed – God’s Election
ü
“Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated” –
God’s Election
ü
God will decimate
Russia and its coalition of states when they invade Israel – God’s Election.
God sees His plan from the end to the beginning. Devine Election is God’s grace to bless those He wants to. It’s Man’s Free Will that
gets him in on this blessing too.
The Condition of Man is greatly wicked and the heart of God is
grieved;[3] God
has said; I will destroy all wickedness.
It is God’s will that ALL come to repentance for their sins and accept
his Son Jesus the Christ as their Messiah; their Savior.[4]
God takes no pleasure in the
destruction of the wicked.[5]
No man can on his own can come to God; he must be “enabled” by the Holy Spirit.[6]
Devine
election was extended to the
Nation of Israel, but most did not accept Jesus as God’s son. God’s grace is in Devine Election to bless those He wants to bless.[7] It’s Man’s “Free Will” that gets him in on the covenant of receiving the blessings
as the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.[8]
Free Will along with Devine election,
are both taught in the scriptures
and are not withheld from the un-believer.
It was God’s Devine election, His love and good pleasure
that he took delight in choosing to bless the nation of Israel.[9] They were a stiff necked people that did
nothing to merit His favor.[10] They were to be a separated
Holy nation belonging to Him,
a nation that He would use to bring forth the Christ and salvation to those
that would believe.[11] They were His people, but they were not saved, until they
received His Son.[12] To speak against the Holy Spirit is rejecting
God and is the
unpardonable sin.[13] For
the life of the believer, God has a plan[14] and
a purpose.[15] It is a mystery to us; we cannot comprehend
God’s thoughts and ways.[16] However, we are assured that if God said it…
it will happen.[17] We have the assurance that when God says it…. The issue is settled.[18]
The Sovereignty of God – A Divine Mystery
For
those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers, and those he predestined,
he also called; those he called, he
also justified;
those he justified, he also glorified. [19] Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to
have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.[20]
QUESTION; doesn’t the
potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble
purposes and some for common use? [21] Who has understood the mind of the LORD,[22] Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out![23]
FLIP SIDE of PREDESTINATION
SALVATION is by FAITH through GRACE alone
We can do
nothing to save ourselves.
God alone saves.
The Mystery – This plan includes the Gentiles - us
All
Israel by Devine Election is to be saved.[24] All Israel is those of the Jews that have
accepted Jesus as the son of God as well as the saved Gentiles[25]
that were grafted into the branch and have now become a part of Israel.[26] It is not ALL of Israel or
all Jews and ALL Gentiles. It’s just “THOSE
THAT BELIEVE”;
they are the “ALL”
of Israel; those living as
well as those that are dead.
Devine
Election… His Will…
His Purpose…
His Plan…
God
in His sovereignty chose us while we were still “dead” in our sins.[27] The Holy Spirit gave us the “ability”
to choose Him, thus we became predestined to be a part of His plan; HE DID IT ALL.
Everyone Is Predestined somewhere
At the judgment, every knee WILL bow before Christ[28]
and every tongue SHALL confess that
Jesus is Lord. Everyone will spend eternity somewhere.[29] Who are the predestined
to enter heaven?[30] They
are the Believer,[31] the Elect.[32]
There will be some that take on the “clothing”
of a Christian, but they are not actually saved.[33] Once you are saved you are SAFE… No man, angel nor demon can take you out of the
hand of God.[34] Nothing in the present or future, nor powers,
nor death can separate you from God.[35]
Predestination: The
Non-Believer… Their
Will… Their Choice; the word of God is
just foolishness to the hard of heart.
[36] Man
was created with “free will”… God has set a choice in front of him. God knows the heart of the unbeliever
before they were ever born and in His sovereignty, He uses them to complete His purpose and His plan.
He knew the heart of “Judas Iscariot” and included him in His mystery,
in His plan.[37]
God’s Election - Judgment
Here
is how it all lines up;
it
is appointed unto men once to die, and after this is the judgment[38]…
There will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked [39]…
Some will awake to everlasting life; others to everlasting
shame and everlasting contempt.[40]… Jesus
is coming soon and His REWARD is with Him; He will give to
everyone according to what he has done[41]… He
will repay each of you according to your deeds[42]… Each
person will be judged
according to what he had done[43]… Those
who have done good
will rise to live,
and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned[44] God has remembered your crimes; your sins are
piled up to heaven and God will pay you back double for what you have done, He will mix you a double portion FROM YOUR OWN
CUP.[45]
The MAKE-BELIEVER and UNBELIEVER shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous
believer will go into life eternal.[46]… The
Un-believer and make believer shall
be cast into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth[47]…
The smoke of their TORMENT will ascend up
for ever and ever: and they will have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT.[48]
Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire
which is the second death. If
anyone's name was not found written in the BOOK
OF LIFE,
he would also be thrown into the lake of fire[49]… I will say to the unbeliever; depart from
me, ye cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.[50]
There the worm will not die, nor will the fire be
quenched upon the dead bodies of
those who rebelled against God, His Son and the Holy Spirit.[51]
The Invitation
You
are invited to freely come and find rest for your soul.[52] You can’t do anything to earn Salvation; it’s not by
your works, it’s by the Work of Jesus Christ on the cross; it’s His free Gift to you from God.[53] Seek
the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil
man his thoughts. Let him turn to the
LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and he will freely
pardon and make an everlasting covenant with you, as promised to David.[54]
The Choice
Set
before us is a choice of life or death;[55]
of eternity somewhere, eternity in Heaven with Christ or eternity in the Lake
of Fire with; Satan, the fallen Angels, demons and the wicked. God wants us to choose life;[56] to make no choice is a choice to reject the Holy Spirit.[57]
It’s not what you have done in the
past… It’s what you do right now that counts.[58]
Sadly, some will confess “Christianity” just to keep from
going to hell; they will utter a bunch of “Praise the Lord’s”, they may even be involved
in charity and religious work, but still will not have an inward personal
relationship with Christ; I’m good, your good, everybody’s good, they
think they have a “fire escape”. He will say, “I never knew you”.[59]
The Take Away
God
foreordained and called ALL to salvation. ALL are free to accept or reject His call. It is left up to the individual’s FREE WILL to decide. It is foreknown who will accept and meet the
terms of the Gospel and become adopted as the Sons of God; the “Elect;
thus foreknown and predestined.
[2] Romans 2:11 - For there
is no respect of persons with God -- Romans 10:12-13 - EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved. -- Romans 2:6-11 – BY GRACE He will
give eternal life to
everyone who does good for; God does not show
favoritism
[3] Genesis 6:5-7 – Man’s
thoughts and heart is on evil all the time
[4] 2 Peter 3:9 – God’s will is that everyone receive eternal life
[5] Ezekiel 33:11 – God takes no pleasure in the death of the un-saved
[6] John 3:16 - For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER
BELIEVES IN HIM shall
not perish but have eternal life -- Romans 2:6 – He
will render to every man according to his deeds
[7] Romans 9:10 - God's
purpose in ELECTION;
the older will serve the younger… Does not the potter have the right to make
out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for
common use
[8] Deuteronomy 30:19 - I
call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life
and death, blessings and curses. NOW CHOOSE LIFE
[9] Ephesians 1:11 – Chosen,
predestined; the plan, the purpose, His will --
Romans 8:30 – Those predestined, He
also justified & glorified
[10] Romans 8:28 – All things
of God work together for good according to His purpose
[11] Ephesians 1:3-4 - Elected
to be holy and blameless in his sight
[12] 2 Thessalonians 2:13 –
Chosen into salvation through the sanctifying work
of the Spirit and through your belief in
the truth
[13] Matthew 12:31-32 –
Rejecting the Holy Spirit is the un-pardonable sin
[14] Isaiah 14:24 – God has a plan for your life
[15] Isaiah 14:27 – God has a purpose for your life
[16] Isaiah 55:9 – God’s ways and thoughts are higher that man’s --
Romans 11:33 – God’s ways are past finding out
[17] Psalm 119:89 - Your word,
O LORD, is eternal it stands
firm in the heavens
[18] Isaiah 40:8 – God’s word
stands forever -- Psalm 119:89- God’s word settles all issues.
[19] Romans 8:29-30 – WE ARE PREDESTINED TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF
HIS SON and
also called; justified and glorified.
[20] Romans 9:18 - God has mercy on whom he
wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
[21] Romans 11:21 - God did not spare the natural branches of the Jews,
he will not spare you gentiles either
[22] Isaiah 40:13 - Who can fathom the
Spirit of the LORD, or instruct
the LORD as his counselor
[23] Romans 11:33 - How
unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
[24] Ephesians 1:9-10 - He
made known to us THE MYSTERY of
his will according to his good pleasure
[25] John 10:16 – I have sheep
in another pasture; the Gentiles
[26] Romans 11:25-27 – The MYSTERY of “All Israel”; Israel
has a hardening in part, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in
[27] Ephesians 1:4-5 – We were
chosen before the world was created PREDESTINED TO
BE ADOPTED AS HIS SONS through Jesus Christ -- Ephesians 1:11 – we were chosen, PREDESTINED ACCORDING TO
THE PLAN OF HIM who
works out everything in conformity with the purpose
of his will -- Revelation 11:15 –
Christ is PREDESTINED
TO REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER
[28] Philippians 2:9-11 –
Every knee shall bow – every tongue confess
[29] Hebrews 9:27 – Man is predestined to die and then the judgment.
[30] Romans 8:14 – The true
heart will be drawn by the Holy Spirit to Jesus -- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 - From
the beginning He knows the truth in your heart
[31] John 1:12 – Those who believe have the right to become children of
God -- John 3:14-15 - Those that lift up the name of Jesus and believes
in him will have eternal life -- John 17:2 –
He gives us eternal life to all those that
will believe -- Acts 16:31 – Just believe and you
will be saved -- John 5:24 – Believers are predestined to life
[32] John 17:9 – We belong to
God -- John 17:6 – We were given by God to Jesus
[33] 1 John 2:19 – SOME NOT REALLY
SAVED
[34] John 10:27-28 – The true
believer cannot be removed from His hand. -- John 6:37- Once we are His, its
forever.-- Acts 13:48 – Those that believe will have eternal life --
Philippians 1:6 – We can be confident; he who began a good work in you will
carry it on to completion
[35] Romans 8:38-39 – Nothing can separate us from God’s love -- 2
Timothy 1:12– We are persuaded that He is able to keep that which has been
committed unto him
[37] John 17:12 – God used
Judas; A Christian Outward; but Not inward.
[38] Hebrews 9:27 – It is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
[39] Acts 24:15 - There will
be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
[40] Daniel 12:2 - Some will
awake: some to everlasting life, others to
shame and everlasting contempt
[41] Revelation 22:12 - I am
coming soon! My reward is with me; I will give to
everyone according to what he has done
[42] Revelation 2:23 - I will repay each of you according to your deeds
[43] Revelation 20:13 - Each person was judged according to what he had done
[44] John 5:29 - Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned… I
will say to the unbeliever; depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels
[45] Revelation 18:5-6 - God
has remembered your crimes, your sins are piled up to heaven and will pay you
back double for what you have done, He will mix you a double portion from your
own cup
[46] Matthew 25:46 – Make-believer/unbeliever shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous believer will go into life
eternal
[47] Matthew 13:42 – The Un-believer and make believer shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth
[48] Revelation 14:11 - The
smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day
nor night
[49] Revelation 20:14-15 -
Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire which is the second death.
If anyone's name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire
[50] Matthew 25:41- I will say to the unbeliever; depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels
[51] Isaiah 66:24 - There the
worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched upon the dead bodies of
those who rebelled against me
[52] Matthew 11:28-30- Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. -- Revelation 22:17 – let
him that hears say, Come and take of the Lord’s gift freely
[53] Ephesians 2:8-9 – Salvation is the free gift from God the Father
[54] Isaiah 55:1-7 – He will have mercy and abundantly pardon and will
make an everlasting covenant with you, as promised to David
[55] Deuteronomy 30:19 – Man has free will; Man has a choice -- 1 Timothy 2:14
– Adam’s choice changed the life of ALL his children
[56] Romans 10:13 – Make a choice; Call on God and you will be saved
-- Joshua 24:15 – Choose today to serve the
Lord -- Matthew 10:32-33 – Confess Christ
openly before men -- Romans 10:9-10 – Confess and
Believe Jesus is Lord and be saved
[57] 1 Kings 18:21 – How long will you waver between two opinions? Get off
the fence; make a decision
[58] Luke 15:18-24- Repent; Confess your sins, God will draw you back;
-- Genesis 15:6 – Just Believe
[59] Matthew 7:22-23 – Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you
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