ELECTION
CHECK IT OUT
By John W. White
The doctrine of election has long been a subject
for debate. Calvinism and Arminianism are the two extremes. The two contradict
each other and they both use the same Bible to prove their doctrinal position.
Calvinism teaches that only the elect will be saved and Arminianism teaches
that those who persevere will be saved. The Bible plainly states that God is
not the author of confusion 1
Corinthians 14:33.
SALVATION
Simply stated, Jesus Christ "Died for all, then
were all dead." 2 Corinthians 5:14,
and "He lighteth every man that cometh into the world"
John 1:9. Every man that comes into
the world can be saved. To be saved is to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved" Acts 16:31. Paul used the aorist tense of the verb
'believe' and not the present
tense. The aorist tense is graphed by using a dot (·),
an event. The present tense is
graphed by using a line (¾). You
believe one time and you are saved and you do not have to continue to believe
to stay saved, as would be the case if the present tense were used.
John 3:3 "...I say unto
thee, Except a man be born [also in the aorist tense] again [above], he cannot
see the kingdom of God." When we
are born from above we are placed into the family of God, and that can not be
reversed. Earthly and heavenly DNA can not be altered. We are forever in the
family.
CALLING
2
Timothy 1:9 "Who 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," Salvation comes before the calling. In
Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few
are chosen." NOT ALL are called. The
'many' that are called are not called unto salvation, because the invitation
to be saved is not limited to just many, but is extended to every man
that cometh into the world. The calling is a holy calling and is given after
one is saved. Out of the many that are called only a FEW are chosen, or Elect.
The holy calling is a heavenly calling (Hebrews
3:1) and is unto His Kingdom and glory.
1 Thessalonians 2:12
"That ye would walk worthy of God, who
hath called you unto his kingdom and
glory." All the saved will SEE His kingdom [John
3:3], but not all of the saved will ENTER into His coming kingdom.
Matthew 7:21 "Not every one
[THAT IS SAVED] that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
ENTER into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven." Not all of His
children are doing His will.
John
14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
ELECTION
Ephesians 1:4, 5 "According as he hath
chosen [Elected;
ejklegw= e>k, out from +
le>gw, to
say] us IN HIM [that is in Christ
vs. 3] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love: Having predestinated [pro>, before +
oJri>zw,
to ordain or to determine] us
unto the adoption of children [from
one Greek word:
ui>oqesia
=
uijo>v, son
+
ti>qhmi, place] ...according to the good pleasure of
his will," Election takes place in the Body of Christ, among those whom
He knew would be saved. The elect are to become sons, having been
predestinated according to the good pleasure of his will.
Romans 8:29, 30 "For whom
he did foreknow,
he also
did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them [the saved] he also
called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified."
GOD IS SOVEREIGN IN ELECTION
Romans 9:11 "(For the children [Esau and Jacob] being not yet
born [but in the womb], neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might
stand, NOT OF WORKS, but of him
that calleth)" JACOB WAS ELECT.
Romans 11:5, 6 "...there is a remnant according to the
election of grace. And if by grace,
then is it no more of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace...." NOT OF WORKS BUT GRACE. (Galatians
5:4 "...whosoever of you are justified by the law ; ye are
fallen from grace.")
Romans 9:12 "It
was said unto her, The elder [greater] shall serve the younger [lesser]."
Position in the family.
Romans 9:13 "As
it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." PREFERENCE . Love/hate are relative terms. We are to Love God and
hate our parents.
Romans 9:14
"What shall we say then?
Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid."
SOVEREIGNTY.
Romans 9:15 "For
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy , and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion." JACOB BLESSED
Romans 9:16 "So
then it is not of him that willeth
[Esau or Jacob], nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
GOD'S WILL, THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST
Romans 9:20 "Nay
but, O man [Esau], who art thou that repliest against God?"
SPIRIT OF ESAU, I OBJECT!
Romans 9:21
"Hath not
the potter power over the clay
[JACOB AND ESAU], of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honour [JACOB] ,and another unto
dishonour [ESAU]?"
GOD IS SOVEREIGN
1
Corinthians 6:19, 20
"What? know ye not...YE ARE NOT YOUR OWN? For ye are bought with a price..."
1
Corinthians 12:18
"But now
hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it HATH PLEASED
HIM."
2
Timothy 2:20, 21 "But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood
and of earth; and some to honor,
and some to dishonor. If a man
therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a
vessel unto HONOUR, SANCTIFIED, and
meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
WHO ARE THE ELECT?
Jacob was last in the family and had a bad
reputation. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen,
yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no
flesh should glory in his presence."
we see that the ELECT are those who can not glory in their own ability
or position in life. Jacob could not glory in anything that he had done. God
did later change his name to Israel, A PRINCE OF GOD.
James 2:5 "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world [ko>smov,
earthly] rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom [heavenly] which he hath promised to them that
love him?"
THE ADOPTION
Adoptions speaks of a child being born to one set
of parents and then being adopted by another set of parents. Many speak of
being adopted into the family of God. When one is born from above he is born
into the family of God, therefore adoption INTO the family is not necessary.
Adoption is placing a child that has been born into the family into a position
of a son. A good illustration of this is when a Jewish boy becomes a 'son of
the commandment' and a full member of the congregation at his bar mitzvah. The
Hebrew word
bar means "son", and the word
mitzvah means "command"
and the root word,
tsavah means to "enjoin" and is
translated "appoint", "charge", "put" or "command".
The elect were chosen to become sons before the foundation of the
world, but have not been made manifest.
Romans 8:19 "For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God."
The manifestation of the sons of God will be made at the resurrection of the
body. Romans 8:23 "We ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit [that is to say], the redemption of our body."
THE ELECT WILL BE SONS OF GOD
In Job 1:6
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.";
Psalms 82:6,7 "I have said, Ye are
gods [judges]; and all of you are children [sons] of the most High."; and
Daniel 10:13 "But the PRINCE
[Jacob's name was changed to A PRINCE OF GOD] of the kingdom of Persia
withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia." These
passages of scripture show that the angels of God whether they be fallen or
not, are known as the sons of God and they are principalities, rulers, and
powers in heavens. We are told that if we are victorious over our enemies and
keep his works to the end, that we will have positions of authority over the
nations and we will rule them with a rod of iron.
Revelation 2:26, 27 "And he that
overcometh [ones being victorious],
and keepeth [guarding] my works unto the end, to him will I give
power [authority] over the nations:
And he shall rule [feed or tend]
them with a rod of iron..." This is confirmed in
Revelation 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb
shall overcome them: for he is Lord of
lords, and King of kings:
and they that are with him are called,
and chosen [ELECT], and
faithful." The words "called",
"chosen", and "faithful" are adjectives describing the kings and lords that
are with him. The apostles were told by the Lord when Peter ask Him in
Matthew 19:27,28 "Behold, we have
forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit
in the throne of his glory, ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
BRETHREN GIVE DILIGENCE
2
Peter 1:4-7
"Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye
might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue... knowledge...
temperance... patience... godliness...to brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity" 2 Peter 1:10
"Wherefore the rather, brethren,
give diligence [spouda>zw, strive, be bent upon, to hasten] to make your
calling and
election sure [be>baiov,
stedfast, stable, firm]: for IF YE DO
THESE THINGS [verses 4-9], ye shall
never fall [ptai>w,
stumble, stagger]:" The charge in this verse is to strive for stability in our
calling and election and do not waste time in accomplishing this objective. We
may stumble, as the nation of
Israel stumbled, but, we do not have to fall as Israel and were cut off.
Romans 11:11 "I say then, Have they
stumbled that they [Israel] should fall [pi>ptw]? God forbid: but
rather
through their fall [para>v +
pi>ptw]
salvation is come unto the
Gentiles..." In Romans 11:16, 17
"For if the firstfruit be
holy, the lump is also holy: and if the
root be holy, so
are the branches. And if some of the [holy, living,] branches be
broken off, [being alive,
they can be graft in again, v. 23] and thou, being a
wild olive tree [GENTILES], wert
grafted in among them [You don't
graft dead branches into a living tree and expect fruit.], and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree [the blessing of the
nation of Israel];" To be cut off in the Old Testament was not to lose their
salvation, but to lose their inheritance in the promised land.
All that left Egypt were cut off but Joshua, Caleb [Caleb was a
Gentile, his name means DOG in Hebrew], and the children 20 years and younger.
Hebrews 3:19 "So we see that they
could not enter in [to the promise land, because they were cut off] because of
unbelief [ajpisti>a
= no
faith]." The same is true here in Romans 11:20, 21 "Well; because of
unbelief [ajpisti>a = no faith] they were
broken off, and thou standest by
FAITH [pisto>v, the opposite of
ajpisti>a]. BE NOT HIGH-MINDED,
but FEAR: For
if God spared not the natural branches,
take heed lest he also
spare not thee." The Nation of
Israel fell because they did not have faith. Israel was
just, they kept the law, but they
would not live by faith, more than keeping the law.
Hebrews 10:38 "Now the just
shall live by faith: but if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." Those who have faith need to add to their faith so that they
can stand and not fall. Those who fell
and cut off did not lose their salvation, otherwise, Moses and Aaron lost
their salvation. If we are cut
off, we do not lose our salvation either, but we will not have an abundant
entrance into the Kingdom of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter
1:11 "For so an entrance [not
just seeing] shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the everlasting [aijw>niov, 'age' used as an adjective],
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
Romans 11:21 "Be not high minded [brethren], but FEAR" We should give
diligence to confirm our calling and election by adding to our FAITH those
things outlined in verses 4-9, then we will be SPARED and not be cut off as
were some of the nation of Israel even though they were ELECT.
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the
first [best] resurrection: on such
the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years."
CHECK IT OUT TRACTS
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EXAMPLES OF THE CALLED AND THE CALLED OUT IN ELECTION
