Christ?
Introductory
Remarks
I would like to tell you how I was introduced to the subject under consideration.
At the age of eighteen years
and six months, Jesus Christ was revealed to me in the word of God by the
spirit of God as my personal Saviour and redeemer. The joy of experiential
salvation became real to me. There followed shortly a conviction relative
to my call to the ministry. Subsequently, I made known this to my pastor.
At that time, by rearing, I was a member of a Methodist Church. My pastor
secured an exhorter's permit for me and I began to preach.
When the Lord truly calls
a person to the gospel ministry He assumes the full responsibility for
His servant, guiding him into the truth. By what means and into which channels
of truth He will lead first is dependent upon His own sovereign choice.
Sooner or later errors held by Christ's servants will be called into question
by exposure to the truth. In less than four months time after my conversion
I was brought face to face with the doctrine of Eternal Security in such
a way that there was no deviation. MY only recourse was to take both sides
to the unerring Word of God and there find the true answer. In no time
short I became a firm believer in the blessed truth of the Eternal Security
of the believer.
This truth cause me to question
my so-called baptism. I sought guidance from a Baptist pastor who knew
clearly what Baptists believed. His answer was, "If its in the Bible it's
Baptist Doctrine. If it is not in the bible it's not Baptist doctrine."
Brother A..C. Camp In the month of January, 1934, I presented myself to
the Faceville Baptist Church, Faceville, Ga., for Scriptural baptism. I
was baptized and ordained to the ministry.
Later in that year another
book was added to my meager library. It was, "The Work of Christ Consumated
in seven Dispensations", by the late Dr. J.R. Graves.
With great delight I began
my study in that book using my Bible to verify his teachings. Working nine
hours a day as I then was, and preparing my regular messages for the church
did not leave me as much free time to study as I desired. By the end of
January, 1935, I had reached a chapter in the book captioned thus: "Did
Christ undertake to make an atonement for all of Adam's race? Were not
some specially given Him by the Father to save? Etc.?" With skepticism
I began reading that chapter. Upon discovering the trend of its doctrine
I closed the book and returned it to the shelf. I pronounced in my mind
a woe upon a person that would hold such a narrow view. Making myself the
promise that I would read it no more, I sought to dismiss it from my mind.
The voice of the spirit of
God in the conscience cannot be silenced by merely closing a book. Day
after day such thoughts as these came to my mind, "You agreed with him
thus far, may he not be right?" And, "if he had written what you believed
would you not have read him gladly?" The last thought was, "Are you being
honest with the truth, are ;you not afraid that he might be right and you
wrong?" With this reproof I began reading that chapter critically but honestly,
checking and re-checking it by the word. It was not too long before I became
a firm and unshakable believer in the sovereign election of God in the
salvation of sinners. This truth possessed me, filling me with joy and
gladness, and enters into every aspect of my theology. It is the only doctrine
that truly honors God in the salvation of the sinners.
No, it does not take away
ones desire for the salvation of the lost. It does give an abiding assurance
that all of those for whom Christ died will hear
and believe.
To a great degree I feel keenly for those being thrust suddenly to face this doctrine. The Free-will
of man and the sovereignty
of God in salvation are irreconcilable, and there is no painless way for
Arminianism to die. But, die it must, it the God of the Bible is to be
given the proper glory for our salvation and occupy the proper place in
our affections. JWB
WHY
DO MEN COME TO CHRIST?
As we face our subject some
stubborn facts stare us in the face. First, some people do come to Christ
and others do not. Second, coming to Christ is a change. Third, there is
no change without a cause, for there is no cause without effect. We must
reach the conclusion that no one comes to Christ without an adequate cause.
The question is, does this moving cause originate within man, or is he
motivated by a power foreign to himself?
Before
we investigate the cause why men come to Christ, let us compare the intellect,
will and emotions of all who come to Christ before they come with those
who never come. Do all act and think alike by nature? Do all feel alike
towards God by nature? We will quote some passages from God's word which
I believe will instruct us.
Job 31:15 - Did not
He that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the
womb?
Psalms 35:15 - He fashioneth
their hearts alike; He considereth all their works.
Jeremiah 17:9 - The
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know
it?
Romans 3:22b,23 - for
there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory
of God.
Ephesians 2:3 - Among
whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lusts of the
flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind: and were by
nature the children of wrath, even
as others
These verses show us that
all begin life alike, with a sinful nature. God reveals faithfully that
the state of the will and the mind are anything but what they ought to
be towards Him apart from the regenerating work of the Holy spirit. Observe:
Romans 5:10 - For if
when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled,
we shall be saved by His life.
Colossians 1:21 - And
you that were sometimes alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled..
Romans 8:7 - Because
the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be.
Romans 3:10 - As it
is written, there is none
righteous, no not one.
In summing up this description
of lost mankind, we find many inabilities, but no capability, except it
be to sin yet the more. If we have any ability or capability, it certainly
is of God.
The cause of coming to Christ is express in various ways, such as "Given to Him", "Drawing" etc.
For example:
John 6:44,45 - No man
can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets,
"and they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard,
and hath learned of
the Father cometh to me."
The why
of the cause is found in scriptures such as --
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.
Ephesians 3:11 - According
to the eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 9:11 - For the children
being not yet born, 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.
We have now, in our study,
been brought face to face with a word and a doctrine which is repulsive
to about 90% of all professing Christians: namely, election and the doctrine
of ELECTION. Those who rebel at this truth do not really know at what the
rebel.
There are two other facts
stated in the Word however that do not seem to bother those who rebel at
the doctrine of election. One is that God demands the new birth of every
person who is to see or enter into the Kingdom of God. (John chapter 3)
This new birth is dispensed wholly upon God's Sovereign choice:
John 3:8 - The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is
born of the Spirit.
No person has ever willed
himself to be born, either physically or spiritually, the exercise of the
will is an indication that there is life.
Second, no person seems to
be greatly upset that God saves some of the fallen of Adam's race and not
any of the angels which sinned. These He has left in everlasting chains
under darkness, but He has taken hold of the seed of Abraham instead. (Hebrews
2:16)
Did it ever occur to you
that the doctrine of election is not argued for in the Bible any more than
is the existence of God. Both facts are clearly stated. It would be silly
for a person who is alive to seek to prove his existence. The Bible introduces
us to the existence of God in these words:
Genesis 1:1 - In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
He introduces us to the fact
of election in such passages as these:
Matthew 24:22, 31 -
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:
but for the elect's sake
those days shall be shortened. ----- 31 - And He shall send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gathertogether
HIS ELECT from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
2 Timothy 2:10 - Therefore
I endure all things for the elect's
sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus
with eternal glory.
1 Peter 5:13 - The
church that is at Babylon, elected together
with you, saluteth you, and so does Marcus my son.
Romans 11:7 - see also
verse 5 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for;
but theelection hath
obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Why we want to try to argue
the truth of election is beyond me, we have no cause to argue. The Bible
settles it all for those who seek after the truth. It is much more difficult
to try to explain away this truth than it is to accept it, in fact it cannot
be explained away. No matter how one may argue, God continues to save whom
He will when He wills and where He will.
Among the many foundationless reasons for rejecting the doctrine of election, only two are worthy of being mentioned.
1. Ignorance of the truth resulting from a lack of proper study or an incorrect setting forth of the doctrine.
2. Those who persistently
reject this truth may be lost, and hereby incapable of receiving spiritual
truth according to 2 Corinthians 2:14.
Before we proceed further
with the doctrine of election itself, let us examine five axioms relative
to God's actions.
1. God is the God of purpose
and deign. Ephesians 1:9 - Having made known unto us the mystery
of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
hath purposed in Himself.
2. Purpose and design involve
predestination. 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.
3. God's purpose and
predestination are eternal. Ephesians 3:11 - According to the
eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4. Purpose and predestination
demand fruition. Romans 4:20-21 - He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith giving glory to God; And
being fully persuaded that
what God had promised He was able also to perform.
5. Bringing to pass what
is predestined demands power and wisdom. Ephesians 3:20 - Now
unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.
One of God's decrees for
this present age is set forth in - Acts 14:14 - Simeon hath declared
how God at the first (literally for the first time) did visit the Gentiles,
to take out of them (Gentiles) a people for His name.
This "taking out" has been
going on in the world since the days of His flesh, and will continue until
completed. This gathering out has been carried on through His ordained
means, the preaching of the Gospel. (1 Corinthians 1:21) The next verses
of Acts 15, (15-17), indicate that when this out gathering is completed
He will undertake the fulfillment of the next stage of prophesy. If there
is not a specific number to be gathered, and those by name, then when will
the Lord know when to commence the next Phase of His decrees??? The answer,
thanks be unto Him, is found in vs 18, -- Acts:15-18 - Known unto
God are all His works from the beginning of the world.
Let us now define Election.
By election we mean that
God, of His own free will and purpose, and for a cause known only unto
Himself, chose certain from among Adam's lost race to be the objects of
His sovereign grace in effecting their salvation, and effectually applying
the same to those chosen.
God the Father alone is the
Elector:
Romans 8:32 - Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's
elect ..
Colossians 3:12 - Put
on therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved
.....
1 Thessalonians 1:4-
Knowing, brethren beloved, yourelection
of God...
1 Peter 1:2 - Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father ...
Luke 18:7 - .. And
shall not God avenge His
elect .. ?
Titus 1:1 - .. According
to the faith of God's elect
...
In the light of these verses
it is impossible to make "man" the "elector" of God or salvation.
The time of our election
certainly excludes any capability of choice on man"s part.
Ephesians 11:4-5 -
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.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
- But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved
of the Lord, because God
hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through sanctification
of the spirit, and belief of the truth:
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 that was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world (i.e. ages) began.
The sum of all these verses
is : God, from all eternity, elected certain persons to salvation. He did
not elect a plan for them to elect, and then if they elected to receive
the plan He then elected them in the plan. How this blasphemously denies
the plain revelation that our names were written in the Lamb's Book of
Life in eternity!
It is only fair to us who
believe the Biblical truth of election to declare our belief that God has
also ordained the means whereby He will save the elect.
He ordained that Christ die
a substitutionarydeath
or every elect and rise again to ever live to make intercession for them.
He ordained that this
message be preached to every creature so that we will carry it to the elect
(and not elect those to whom we wish to carry it to) in order that they
may hear. The Holy Spirit is to quicken them thus enabling to hear, and
then give to those quickened the faith to believe the report about Christ.
It is often argued by so
many that god will not force a person to believe against his own will.
Before we consider man's will in salvation, I wish to show how men are
forced of God to act contrary to their will; It was not the will of the
men on the ship that Jonah be cast overboard, but it was God's will, and
he was cast overboard, they acted contrary to their will.
It was not the will of Pharaoh
to let the children of Israel go, but he did because it was God's will
for them to go! Haman did not will the promotion of his enemy, Mordecai
to a position next to the king, and his own death on the gallows. But it
all came to pass because God willed it so. It was not even the will of
Pilate that Christ to be put to death but he could not extract himself
from the dread task. All these were forced on against their wills.
God doeth as He will (Daniel
4:35) and His will is irresistible.
God does save an individual
against his will. In regeneration God gives the new nature to His elect.
With this new nature there comes a new
will,
it is now the will
of God taking over so that this new will acts contrary to the old adamic
will which if not superseded by the new, would still rebel. I challenge
anyone to produce one single person who was ever saved without a desire
to be saved. It is impossible to do so. We can on the other hand find many
people who were persuaded to join some church against their will. But concerning
the peoples of God He declares through the Psalmist:
Psalm 110:3 - Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power ..
Philippians1:13
- For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.
But another argument is often
advanced, "Cannot a person resist the call of God to salvation and refuse
to be saved if he wants to?" Our answer is "NO". For in the first place
salvation is never offered to be rejected. It may be offered by the preacher
who proclaims the message, but it is never "offered" by the Holy spirit
to be rejected. It is bestowed by Him upon the elect of God.
Our Lord gives two parables
in the Gospel by Luke. They picture a king considering making war on another
king, if he is able, and if not he desires to come to terms with the stronger.
The other part is about a man who starts to build a house, He fails to
count the cost and is not able to finish, hence becomes an object of ridicule.
(Luke 14:28-32)
Has God, in the death of
His son and the blood of His cross, laid a foundation upon which He only
hoped to erect a salvation for the whole human family, but has failed because
of the stubbornness of the human will which He with all His wisdom and
power can't conquer? If so, then Satan is happy, and he shall surely mock
God, for he is stronger than God!
Or has God gone forth to
war against the puny will of man only to be turned back in defeat? Nay
verily not! He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Lord Mighty in battle
is His title.
Please observe this statement:
A
grace that is not able to save all that it designs to save is not grace
but a mockery, and to offer saving grace to a person and have him refuse
the salvation offered is to mock grace.
As we have said, it is not
the old nature in a person that is brought to faith, but it is the new
nature imparted in regeneration. As the negative is helpless to resist
the light so is the new heart in man by the Spirit helpless to resist.
We may illustrate: Christ is the Light, and when He shines in our hearts,
it places upon the Holy Spirit-implanted negative, (the new heart) the
image and likeness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5)
Did Lazarus have the power
to resist the return of his spirit into his body at the command of Christ?
NO. Could he have refused to come forth? NO. Could the eyes to which Christ
have sight, refuse the sight? NO.. Could they have failed to see? Nay beloved,
an object of God's grace under the power of the Holy Spirit is as helpless
to resist His workings as were the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision (chapter
37) to receiving sinews, flesh and skin, and the entering of breath into
their bodies. They were not in a position to resist, for they were not
consulted but quickened.
The grand verses of truth
on this matter are - Romans 8:29-30 - For whom
He did foreknow, He did also 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.
If the foreknowledge of God
consisted only, as some claim it does, of knowing before hand what man
would do, who would believe and who would not, and thus shaping His plan
accordingly, God's plan would have been in bad shape. Even Adam and Eve
did not in their state of innocency choose God, but rather chose Satan.
How much less could they be expected to choose God after they had sinned
against Him and become rebels?
It is true that Adam and
Eve should
have sought unto the Lord immediately, confessed their transgression, and
ask for pardon and forgiveness. Alas, to the contrary, they sought to hide.
God became the Seeker
and the Saviour.
He chose to clothe Adam and Eve despite their dessert, and did it without
so much as their solicitation. Human nature has not changed from that time
until the days of Paul, for he wrote:
Romans 3:11 - There
is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God.
We know that the foreknowledge
of God consists of at least one thing: ''God knew whom He had set His love
upon, thereby determining what He would do for them, and then with them.
It is clearly stated in the book of: Isaiah: there is none line Him,
declaring the end from the beginning. And - He declares that all those
upon whom He has set His love. He will make like His Son in Glorifications.
( Romans 8:19;)
2 Timothy 2:19 - The
Lord knoweth them that are His.
Of all the rest He says:
Matthew 7:23 - .... I
never knew you.
Many a professing Christian
has said in a most heated manner -- 'I don't believe in the doctrine of
predestination.
I often wonder if they really
mean this. Every saved person must, when the depths are sounded, admit
a degree of belief in the predetermining will of God to Be saved one must
believe the Gospel and the Gospel declares:
1 Corinthians 15:3
- "How that Christ Died for our sins according to the Scriptures.. Etc."
The sufferings and death
of Christ are vividly foretold in the Old Testament centuries before He
came to this earth. No truly born-again person would ever think of denying
this. This is predestination.
If you believe Ephesians
1:11, quoted on page 2 and Ephesians 3:d11, you admit yourself to be an
absolute predestinarian. If you say you do not believe them, you declare
infidelity in the Word of God!
It does not matter how a
verse may sound, or whatever interpretation has been attached to it, it
must conform to the general teaching of the Book. Never interpret an apparently
obscure passage in such a way as to contradict a clear passage, nor out
of context.
This brings us at last to
the question, "Why do men come to Christ/"
Men come to Christ because
they are elected and drawn.
Psalm 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 they house, even of they Holy Temple.
John
6:37 - All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out.
John 6:44 - No man
can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
Thus we must also reach this
inevitable conclusion that the three reasons why men don't come to Christ
are these:
1. They were not chosen, therefore not cause to approach unto Him.
2. They were not given to Him by the Father therefore they do not come.
3. They were not drawn to
Him by the Father
Why do some believe?
Acts 13:48 - ... and
as many as were ordained to eternal
life believed..
Why do the others not believe?
John 10:26 - But ye
believe not because ye are
not of my sheep...
People do not believe to
become a sheep as so many erroneously believe, but in believing they give
evidence that they are
a sheep.
There are many passages in
the Word which we might quote, adding proof to proof, but as one has said,
"if God said it, I believe it and that settles it>" God does not have to
repeat a thing to make it true, but it is true if 'god says it only once!
In conlusion, let us consider
a few remarks which will help us to ascertain our election of God.
First and always, election's
design is to bring the elected into contact with the saving work of Christ
through the Gospel, and it always does without failure.
1 Thessalonians 1:5
- Four Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.
Every elect will sooner or
later be brought to know the joy of having had His sins put away in the
death of Christ, and rejoices that heaven is before him for sure.
After salvation is experienced,
the elect ones always follow the Lord's true servant, His people and the
Lord Himself. Even in the face of affliction there is a sense of joy.(1
Thessalonians 1:6) Lives become exemplary;, and there is a desire to
see that the Word of God goes forth.
By
Joe W. Bell
Senior Pastor Grace Missionary Baptist Church
402 Maverick Drive
Dothan
Al 36301