In message <6k5gb4dbglpg0popn87pia3rsk9uad9kg9@
4ax.com>
old man joe
home.com> wrote:
> some might ask the question... ' why witness if predestinated ' ?
>
> good question.
>
> in Eph 1 it is written :
>
> 4 " just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
> that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
>
> 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to
> Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
>
> 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made
> us accepted in the Beloved. "
>
> in the above verses it is apparent that God does the choosing and
> that
> He did so before He created the world. all men, being found in
> Adam, die, ( 1 Cor. 15:22 ) and remain so from cradle to grave,
> and are ' of their father the devil, and want to do the desires of
> their father ' Jo.8:44
>
> mankind is hopelessly lost and is said to be :
> " having no hope and without God in the world." Eph. 2:12
>
> he has no righteousness in and of himself; he neither seeks for
> God nor does he understand :
>
> " There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who
> understands;
> There is none who seeks after God. " Ro. 3:10,11
>
> he is said to be spiritually dead and beyond all self help as far
> as
> his relationship to God is concerned :
>
> 1 "... you who were dead in trespasses and sins,
>
> 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this
> world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
> who now works in the sons of disobedience,
>
> 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts
> of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
> and
> were by nature children of wrath. " Eph. 2:1-3 ff
>
> since man is the absolute slave of sin... since he is spiritually
> dead in trespasses and sins... since he does not seek for God,
> God, knowing this as He knows all things, chooses out of His
> mercy, love and grace, some unto eternal life.
>
> with that choosing, God calls His elect ones to Himself through
> the gospel... after all, the gospel is " the power of God unto
> salvation " Ro. 1:16
This passage of scripture also says the gospel reveals the
*righteousness* of God.
Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
If God arbitrarily selects only some to be saved, and destroys the
rest, or what is even worse, condemns them to unending infernal
torment, as some teach, that can hardly be called "righteous," can
it?
According to an official statement of faith by theologians of the
Church of Scotland in the nineteenth century, 'By the decree of
God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are
predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to
everlasting death.' And of the non-elect they stated, 'The rest of
mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of
His own will, whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy as He
pleaseth, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures,
to pass by, and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their
sin, to the praise of His glorious justice.'
How does this generate any praise for God's "justice"? Those
theologians must have a warped idea of justice! There is something
missing in the above statement, and in what old man joe presents.
He fails to understand the scope of the gospel. He fails to
consider all the scriptures of Paul, that reveal the gospel's
application to all; he selects and quotes only from a few
scriptures. And many of the ones he quotes, he misinterprets! The
posts of old man joe expose his denial of God's purpose to have all
men saved.
1 Timothy 2:4-6
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Old man joe denies that Christ was a "ransom for all," and he claims
Christ died only for some.
Paul said Jesus came to die for everyone, without exception. If
Christ came to save even the chief of sinners, who is going to be
left out?
1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am
chief.
Paul said, all will be reconciled to God.
Colossians 1:20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to
reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be
things in earth, or things in heaven.
Everyone will bow to God, and confess that Jesus is Lord.
Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow
to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Philippians 2:8-11
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
>
> He does the calling of these chosen ones through the gospel :
>
> " God from the beginning chose you for salvation through
> sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He
> called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our
> Lord Jesus Christ. " 2 Thes. 2:13,14
>
> another well suited example of this great calling of the ones
> chosen by God before the foundation of the world, is seen in the
> Book of
> Acts, where Paul and Barnabas were preaching the gospel to a
> crowd of Jews and Gentiles :
>
> " Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified
> the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal
> life,
> believed. " Acts 13:48
>
> why witness if predestinated ? simply because the preaching of
> Gods Word is the means by which He calls His chosen ones out of
> the world and unto Himself... " to which He called you by our
> gospel. " 2 Thes. 2:14
Some are called to believe the gospel in this life, the rest will be
called in the judgment.
