Posted 2013-10-26 3:49 AM (#65696) By: SavedByGrace at americaspartynews/talk/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=25811&posts=1#M65696 It Always Comes Down To A Choice :: Life, Liberty, Faith & the Family (Independent) -> The Always In Prayer Network It Always Comes Down To A Choice (How Do We Know It’s The Right Choice?) Please open up your Bibles to 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.” This scripture passage contains and proclaims the truth of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Some Bible scholars (who call themselves Calvinists or Reformed Theologians) teach however that these verses are only about God’s sovereignty while man plays no role in his own or her own salvation. They couldn’t be more wrong. They try to fit our sovereign (supreme in everything), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipotent (all powerful) God into a symbolic flower and a system of theology named TULIP. TULIP, indeed and unfortunately to some, represents more than just a flower. It’s an acronym, where each letter stands for the first letter of the names of five so-called “doctrines of grace”, which some believe and teach about the relationship between God and man. I will name each doctrine, followed by a brief explanation of what is taught. The T stands for Total Depravity (the teaching that man is by nature and by choice totally depraved, evil, corrupt and even void of any ability to respond to the gospel). The U stands for Unconditional Election (the teaching that God elects or chooses some to be saved without any involvement on the part of man). The L stands for Limited Atonement (the teaching that Christ by His sacrificial death fully atoned or paid the price only for all the sins of the elect). The I stands for Irresistible Grace (the teaching that man is unable to resist God’s grace). And finally the P stands for Perseverance of the Saints (the teaching that the saints, by the very fact that they are elected, cannot lose their salvation). These doctrines appear at face value to be true and supported by Scripture. However, they all fall short of encompassing the entire counsel of God’s word and some of the teachings associated with each doctrine are false and amply contradicted by Scripture. Let’s go back to the Ephesians 2 passage and focus now on verses 8 and 9. “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.” These verses portray an aspect of the relationship between God and man through four key words or concepts: grace, saved, faith and gift. I believe the key word among those four words is gift. Why? Because the other three concepts (grace, salvation and faith), according to this verse, are all gifts of God to mankind. We shall see later how the concept of a gift, introduced in Ephesians 2:8, actually unravels the whole TULIP theology. The phrase “not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” in these verses completes and reinforces the truth of God’s sovereignty underlying Ephesians 2:8-9, namely, that God is the only, constant and perpetual source of grace, salvation and faith and, in fact, of every good and perfect gift that we have. James 1:17 reminds us that, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” God is the source of, and is intimately involved with, every cell division that takes place in our body and every breath that we take, along with countless other processes all going on simultaneously and sequentially from our conception in the womb to our final mortal breath and beyond. But we aren’t done yet with extracting more truth from these verses, because the word “gift” and all the implications of its meaning don’t allow us to do so. The Greek noun for “gift” is “doron”. It occurs 19 times in 17 verses in the Greek concordance of the authorized KJV of the New Testament. Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words 1 Strongs Number: g1435 Greek: doron Gift, Giving: akin to didomi, to give, is used (a) of gifts presented as an expression of honor, Mat 2:11; (b) of gifts for the support of the temple and the needs of the poor, Mat 15:5; Mar 7:11; Luk 21:1, 4; (c) of gifts offered to God, Mat 5:23, 24; 8:4; 23:18, 19; Hbr 5:1; 8:3, 4; 9:9; 11:4; (d) of salvation by grace as the gift of God, Eph 2:8; (e) of presents for mutual celebration of an occasion, Rev 11:10. So a gift, by its very definition and usage, implies a giver (in this case God) and a receiver (in this case man). It also involves a choice to give the gift and some sacrifice on the part of the giver but no merit, sacrifice or work on the part of the receiver. Nevertheless, a gift obviously also involves a choice on the part of the receiver to accept the gift or reject it. So how does the truth, taught in these verses, that grace, salvation and faith are all gifts of God to man unravel the whole TULIP theology? This truth destroys TULIP by introducing the concept of a new gift from God to man, not explicitly mentioned in Ephesians 2:8-9, but nevertheless most certainly implied, and that new gift is the gift of choice! So, in light of this truth, what about the T, Total Depravity? Well, if God gives man the gift of choice then man cannot be depraved to the extent of not even being able to comprehend and react to God’s revelation or invitation, including understanding and responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:15-20 is a proof text: “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 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. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Now, if men are without excuse they must indeed possess the gift and ability to understand God’s revelation and to make right or wrong choices. Whereas, if they didn’t possess the gift of choice they would truly have an excuse. So, according to verses 19 and 20 of Romans 1, God has shown all unrighteous men (for “there is none that doeth good, no not one,” according to Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:3 and Romans 3:12 and “there is none righteous, no not one,” according to Romans 3:10) that which may be known of Him…even His eternal power and Godhead. In addition, He gives them the gift of choice so they can choose to exercise or not exercise another one of His gifts, the gift of faith. Now, through the gift of choice the unrighteous can believe and receive or disbelieve and reject all that God has showed them, including the gospel of Christ. What about the next letter in TULIP, U, which stands for Unconditional Election? 2 Timothy 1:9 states, “Who (God) hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” So God has saved us and called us, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace. Again, as in Ephesians 2:8, we receive God’s gifts of grace, salvation and faith according to His purpose and grace, but we must exercise His gift of choice to receive them. Also, God, by His foreknowledge already knew, before the world began, who would choose to receive those gifts and who would choose to reject them, as 1 Peter 1:2 confirms, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” And Ephesians 1:4-6 further amplifies, “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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” So God elected to be saved all those who will choose to receive His gifts of faith and salvation, before the foundation of the world. Man, by exercising his gift of choice, is indeed involved in his election unto salvation or in his rejection unto damnation. When we examine the L, in TULIP, or the doctrine of Limited Atonement, that Jesus Christ died to atone for all the sins of the elect only, in the light of the whole counsel of God’s word, this doctrine borders on heresy, in the sense that it denies the very heart of the gospel, in answering incorrectly the question whose sins did Christ die for? Countless verses in Scripture confirm that Christ’s death atoned for every sin of every human being. For example, 1 John 2:2 – “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” and John 3:16-18 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” How does the gift of choice, bestowed by God upon all of humanity, demolish Limited Atonement? By asking the question, Why would a just God deny the opportunity of salvation to anyone to whom He has given the gift of choice? What about the I in TULIP, which stands for Irresistible Grace? Man’s gift from God to freely choose to disobey God refutes that doctrine. God gives us the choice to resist His grace. It’s called sin. Enough said. Finally, when we consider the P for Perseverance of the Saints, or the teaching that saints, by the very fact that they are elected, cannot lose their salvation, does our gift of choice have an impact on that doctrine? First of all, I believe that Scripture clearly teaches that a person who is saved cannot lose his or her salvation. Many proof texts can be cited like John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Fathers hand” (so once we choose to receive the gift of eternal life and the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us, no man, including ourselves, can do anything to cause us to lose our salvation). Also, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”, which conveys the same message that no creature, including ourselves, can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, or, in other words, our salvation in Christ! So, in this one instance, our gift of choice and the exercise thereof has no bearing at all on us losing our salvation. The second point is that some followers of the TULIP theology believe they are saved because they were elected, to whom I would ask the following questions, Please show me one Scripture that states that you are saved by election and also how do you know you are one of the elect? In fact, it is also worthwhile for each one of us periodically to ask ourselves, how do you or I know that we are saved? Finally, I would caution those who believe they have been saved by an emotional experience at some point in time in their past, if they have no fruit to show in their lives as the good soil in the parable of the Sower and the Soils (Matthew 13:3, Mark 4:1, Luke 8:4), “to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10) and to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13) by the right exercise of their gift of choice…which brings me to wrap up this teaching that I have entitled, It Always Comes Down To A Choice, by asking the following question, How do we know if the choice we make is the right choice? Ephesians 2:10 takes us along the right path to answer that question for believers, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Scripture reminds believers what to do when confronted with any choice (and please don’t neglect any of these endeavors): Trust in God, thank Him for everything and give Him all the credit that He deserves and that you certainly don’t deserve. Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages you and me to “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Also, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 challenges us, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Seek for the Lord’s wisdom and advice in His amazing word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and everywhere, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2:8) and don’t be afraid to “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) What about unbelievers? How do they know if the choice they make is the right choice? Scripture teaches that even unbelievers have no excuse for making wrong choices, so they need to pay attention to what God shows them, as manifested in their own lives (Romans 1:19-20) and then, as their first priority for making right choices, they need to choose to become believers by… 1. Searching for God earnestly, as is recorded in Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Then, when you find Him and He reveals Himself to you, by… 2. Choosing life through and in Jesus Christ, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (Deuteronomy 30 :19) And this life is in Christ, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) and is Christ, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6) 3. Once you become a believer, practice the scriptural suggestions reviewed before for making the right choices, namely, trust in God, thank Him for everything and give Him all the credit that He deserves and that you certainly don’t deserve, seek for the Lord’s wisdom and advice in His amazing word, and pray without ceasing and everywhere! Making the right choices requires obedience and surrender on our part to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His will for our lives. That’s what it takes to be His workmanship, created in Him “unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them!” ----- “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.” Ephesians 2:8-10
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 08:13:42 +0000
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