SPELLING EDITED Cc-6. CALVINISM-IS LIMITED ATONEMENT BIBLICAL? PART 6
“L” Is the DOCTRINE of LIMITED ATONEMENT the TRUTH of GOD'S WORD?
The doctrine in Calvinism and Reformed Theology called the doctrine of Limited Atonement basically states that Jesus did NOT die for ALL of mankind. But rather, according to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, Jesus died ONLY for the ELECT, who according to the doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL Election were chosen or predestined from BEFORE the foundation of the world to be saved. In other words, and again ACCORDING TO this doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL election, God chose ONLY a certain select few individuals to be saved while at the same time God also CHOSE the rest of mankind to be cast into the lake of fire from before that creation of mankind. And, according to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, there is NOTHING that the elect or the non-elect can do to CHANGE their so-called PREDESTINED destiny that God has supposedly chosen for each individual person before they were ever born. Now one of the reasons why Calvinists and Reformed Theologians arrive at this doctrine of LIMITED Atonement is that SINCE Almighty God is SOVEREIGN and, therefore, all-powerful, then it would be a failure for God to not perform His WILL to save ALL of mankind. You see, since the word of God also says in Peter that God is NOT WILLING that ANY man should perish but that EVERY man should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And YET we know elsewhere from the Bible that NOT every human being will be saved. So then, to Calvinist and Reformed Theology Christians, that would make Almighty God be a failure in their eyes. THEREFORE, according to Calvinistic and Reformed Theology Christians, the Scriptures MUST be interpreted to mean that God has ONLY ELECTED certain individuals to be saved because God is SOVEREIGN and ALL POWERFUL. And, therefore. God WILL, without fail, perform what He WILLS. Now, I personally believe that they, speaking of everyone who believes in this false doctrine of LIMITED atonement have errored in their interpretation of the Scriptures. And therefore, they need to wrongly teach that Jesus SUPPOSEDLY died ONLY for a certain select few individuals who were again SUPPOSEDLY chosen to be saved from BEFORE the foundation of the world. Otherwise, their whole doctrine false apart. What they have failed to understand is that God's WILL is God's DESIRE or God's INTENT and that it is each individual person who makes their OWN choice of the own free will to either accept God’s Son Jesus as their Lord and Savior or to reject Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. So those who REJECT Jesus as the Messiah are the ones who FAIL and NOT God who fails. God takes NO PLEASURE in the death of sinners. You see, the Bible teaches us in 1 Samuel chapter 8 about God's Will, God's desire, God's wish, God's hope, or God's intent as to what God WANTED for Israel. And God’s DESIRE is that He should be their King. But Israel wanted a human king like all the other nations around them, so it was Israel that REJECTED God's WILL for them and demanded to have a king over them like all the other nations. Then after SEEING their REJECTION to have God's WILL in their life, God went AGAINST His OWN WILL and desire for His people Israel which was for Himself to be their King and gave God them THEIR desire fulfilling THEIR WILL to have a human king like all the other nations. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, that this does NOT make God any less powerful or any less SOVEREIGN. It simply means that He has given mankind the freedom of CHOICE. Deuteronomy 30:10-19 teaches us that Almighty God has SET before us BOTH LIFE and GOOD as well as DEATH and EVIL, and then has given each individual person the CHOICE as to which one they will CHOOSE. Deuteronomy 30:10-19.
“IF you shall hearken (Or if you shall hear and obey) unto the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, AND IF you turn unto the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul. 11. For this COMMANDMENT (Speaking of a hidden prophecy of the New Covenant. For you see Deuteronomy 30:3-11 is prophecy speaking of God turning a second time to the remnant of Israel during the 1000 year reign of Jesus and the children of Israel will learn to obey the Alph-Tav Messiah Jesus commandments under the New Covenant written in the New Testament) which I COMMAND you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. (Compare the following verses to Romans 10:5-14 which Paul quotes from the verses below) 12. It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13. Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14. But the word is very nigh unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may DO it. (In other words, you are without excuse oh man. The word is nigh you and even in your mouth that is you believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord you shall be saved for confession is made unto salvation) 15. See, (Open your eyes and look, understand and KNOW) I have SET before YOU this day life and good, and death and evil; (In other words, I Almighty God have SET before you a CHOICE between KEEPING my COMMANDMENTS, which is GOOD and what I WILL for you to DO, and IF you make this GOOD CHOICE and DO that which I command, then I will BLESS you with LIFE! BUT know this ALSO that I Almighty God have also SET before you the CONSEQUENCE of DEATH and EVIL, which is NOT my WILL for you to CHOOSE. But IF you make the CHOICE to NOT do the which is GOOD in my sight then you have thus chosen that which is EVIL in my sight and shall, therefore, receive the CURSE of DEATH and you will PERISH) 16. IN THAT (Or I have SET life and good before you IN THIS WAY IN THAT) I command you this day to love the LORD you God, to walk in his ways, and to KEEP his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God shall bless you in the land whither you go to possess it. 17. BUT (Or and I have ALSO SET before you, death and evil, IN THAT, or in this WAY that) IF your heart TURN AWAY, so that you will NOT hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18. I DENOUNCE unto you this day, (Or I am WARNING you RIGHT HERE AND NOW) that you shall SURELY PERISH, and that you shall NOT prolong your days upon the land, whither you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. 19. 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 you and your seed may live:”
This is God's WILL for ALL of mankind, that they CHOOSE LIFE. Yes, I fully realize that this passage of Scripture is speaking of Israel, both at that period of time in history as well as being a PROPHECY of Israel during the 1000 year reign of Jesus. However, this passage CLEARLY shows us God's WILL that He desires us to choose LIFE and NOT to make the choice to rebel against His WILL lest He is FORCED by His own DECREE that He SET before us. For you see, God called all of heaven to RECORD that IF we chose to OBEY we would receive a blessing of LIFE, BUT IF we chose to REJECT His OFFER of BLESSING and LIFE then He would be FORCED to honor His word to destroy the DISOBEDIENT with DEATH. And this is NOT what PLEASES God because He CLEARLY takes NO PLEASURE in the DEATH of those who CHOOSE to do EVIL or that which is AGAINST what God has COMMANDED or WILLS for us to DO. Please read Ezekiel 33:11 where we see God PLEADING with mankind to TURN from His own CHOOSING to do EVIL. Ezekiel 30:11.
“Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, (Or I am PLEADING with you right here and now) I have NO PLEASURE in the DEATH of the wicked; BUT that the wicked TURN from HIS way and LIVE: (God's WILL for all mankind is to do GOOD and LIVE, to CHOOSE God's WILL and LIVE) TURN you, TURN you from YOUR evil ways; for WHY will you DIE, O house of Israel?”
Yes, I again fully realize that this particular passage of Scripture is speaking of Israel. But AGAIN, God's WILL is CLEARLY seen for all of mankind because God is no respecter of persons. God desires ALL the WICKED to REPENT and TURN from doing EVIL in the sight of God and CHOOSE to DO GOOD and LIVE. WHY will you CHOOSE DEATH oh you SINNER, KNOWING that the WAGES or CONSEQUENCES of doing that which is AGAINST God's WILL is DEATH because God has DECREED before all his creation to DESTROY those who REBEL against Him. Now, for all my Calvinist and Reformed Theology Christians who teach that God ordained everything that happens, according to His good PLEASURE, think how your doctrine CONTRADICTS the Scriptures that state as a fact that God takes NO PLEASURE in the death of the wicked. Can you not see that your “interpretation” of the Scriptures that everything that happens was ORDAINED by God and nothing happens that was not ordained by God to happen, according to His good PLEASURE contradicts the clear word of God that states God takes NO PLEASURE in the death of the wicked. You see, IF SO BE that it was God’s good PLEASURE to ORDAIN the death of the wicked then God would be LYING when He says that He takes NO PLEASURE in the death of the wicked which Calvinists CLAIMS was God’s good PLEASURE to ordain certain specific people to be destroyed and there is NOTHING that they can do to change their so-called predestined destiny to be destroyed in the lake of fire. Now, I know those who teach the five points of Calvinism despise this word CHOICE, as in, mankind has been given a FREE WILL or the freedom to CHOOSE that which he or she decides to do whether it be GOOD or whether it be EVIL. And I know from reading many rebuttals given by those who teach Calvinism and Reformed Theology that they despise even more the term “FREE WILL” and FALSELY teach that nowhere in the Bible does it even imply that mankind has the freedom to CHOOSE to do good or to do evil. I will cover this topic of our God-given freedom to make our own choice in greater detail when I discuss the arguments Calvinism and Reform Theology make against free will in the next section under IRRESISTIBLE GRACE. But in this section on limited atonement, I want to point out the verses of Scripture that I myself believe prove without a doubt that the ATONEMENT for SINS was made for ALL of mankind and was NOT LIMITED to only a few specific individuals that God SUPPOSEDLY chose from BEFORE the foundation of the world. However, I will give you just one verse for now found in Ezra 7:13 which clearly and plainly teaches us that mankind has FREE WILL.
Ezra 7:13.
“I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their OWN FREEWILL to go up to Jerusalem, go with you.”
Again, we will cover this subject of free will under the section “I” in the acronym T.U.L.I.P. which stands for IRRESISTIBLE GRACE. But for now, let us continue this study in God's word in this section of part 7 to see if the doctrine of the LIMITED ATONEMENT is the TRUTH of the WHOLE WORD of GOD. Let us read 1 John 2:2 which CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches us that Jesus died not ONLY for OUR sins but ALSO FOR the SINS of the WHOLE WORLD.
1 John 2:2.
“And he (Speaking of Jesus) is the PROPITIATION (Or Jesus is the ATONEMENT) for OUR sins: and NOT for OURS ONLY, BUT ALSO for the SINS of the WHOLE WORLD.”
Now for ME, I do not see how the word of Almighty God can make it any PLAINER or more SIMPLE, or more CLEARER than this. These are PLAIN, SIMPLE, and CLEAR words that are easily understood with absolutely NO interpretation needed. And no matter from what translation you read this verse, this CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE message is the SAME. And that CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE message of TRUTH is that Jesus died for ALL of mankind. Jesus is the propitiation or the atonement for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD just like the clear, plain, and simple truth of God's word emphatically states with NO interpretation needed. But yet Calvinist and Reformed Theology Christians REDEFINE the simple words “NOT for ours ONLY”, ALSO”, and “the WHOLE WORLD” to mean not for ours only who of the ELECT that have already believed but ALSO for the ELECT of the WHOLE WORLD who were chosen before the foundation of the world. To me, that is reading into the text one's own personal interpretation of the Scripture to force the Scriptures to agree with your own man-made theology. You are adding to the Scriptures what you NEEd them to say to support your church doctrine. I want you to read this verse again from a couple of other translations so you can see what I am saying is the TRUTH. Here is the New International Version.
1 John 2:2 from the New International Version (N.I.V.)
“He (Speaking of Jesus) is the ATONING SACRIFICE for OUR sins, and NOT ONLY for ours BUT ALSO for the SINS of the WHOLE WORLD.”
1 John 2:2 from the New International Readers Version (NIRV)
“He (Jesus) gave his life to PAY for OUR sins. BUT he NOT ONLY PAID for our sins. He ALSO PAID for the SINS of the WHOLE WORLD.”
Now again, I fully realize that the Calvinist and the Reformed Theologian Christians do not believe that the WHOLE world MEANS the WHOLE world and the ALL does NOT always MEAN ALL. And of course, they would believe this, because if they did not EXPLAIN this verse in another way, then their WHOLE THEOLOGY would be totally dismantled by this ONE verse, which I personally believe does, in fact, destroy the whole misconception of LIMITED atonement. For you see, CLEARLY, from this ONE verse of Scripture it can be PLAINLY seen that Jesus died NOT ONLY for our sins but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE world. In other words, this one verse intentionally separates OUR sins, as in, the sins of those who ALREADY believe from the sins of the WHOLE WORLD, as in, speaking of ALL of those who have not yet heard the gospel to believe and receive this so great a salvation. There are only two types of people in the world, those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, and those who have not yet accepted Jesus as their Savior. And everyone in the whole world has the right to HEAR the gospel of Jesus Christ and decide for THEMSELVES as to whether or not they CHOOSE to BELIEVE the word of TRUTH, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, I agree that not EVERY single time in the Bible the word “ALL” is used that it literally means ALL the people or ALL in the world, so I am not going to clutter this study with needless back and forth arguments about the word “ALL” not ALWAYS meaning ALL. But I will say this. For anyone to dogmatically say and teach that the WHOLE world here in this particular verse of Scripture does NOT mean the WHOLE world, as in, EVERY SINGLE human being, then they would be purposely INTERPRETING this verse to FIT their OWN doctrine. CLEARLY, the words, “BUT he NOT ONLY PAID FOR our sins, but He ALSO PAID FOR the SINS of the WHOLE WORLD”, means that Jesus PAID for the SINS of EVERY LAST SINGLE human being in the WHOLE ENTIRE world. To me, there is no way that God would have said it so SPECIFICALLY if he did not mean EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING in the ENTIRE WORLD. And to ME, if one twists this clear, plain, and simple truth of God's word to mean only the ELECT is to DENY that Jesus died for YOUR sins. For you see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, HOW could you ever BELIEVE that Jesus died for YOU IF you truly believe that Jesus did NOT die for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD? You simply CANNOT believe because you have absolutely no word of TRUTH to base your FAITH upon. You can never truly believe and trust completely that Jesus died for YOU specifically unless you truly believe that Jesus died for EVERYONE which would INCLUDE YOU. The truth of the matter is that what God CHOSE before the foundation of the world in Ephesians 1:4 is that SALVATION is IN him, speaking of salvation being IN His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ONLY name under heaven given among men or all mankind whereby we MUST be saved, according to Acts 4:12. Please read John 3:16 which to almost all Christians, is CLEARLY speaking of the WHOLE world, as in, EVERY SINGLE human being and NOT just the so-called ELECT.
John 3:16.
“For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes IN him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Again, the doctrine of LIMITED Atonement teaches that the word ‘WORLD” here does NOT mean EVERY single person in the entire world, but rather, according to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, the word “world” means ONLY the ELECT. Also. keep in mind that, ACCORDING to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, EVERY single last one of the ELECT will, without fail, be saved and not even one of the so-called elect from before the foundation of the world chosen to be saved shall LOSE their salvation. So then, with their INTERPRETATION of what they believe this word “WORLD” means to THEM let us read the entire context of John 3:16 and put the word “ELECT” in the place of the word “WORLD”. For you see, to them, they believe it should have been translated and read as, “For God so loved ONLY the ELECT, that He gave His only begotten Son for the ELECT ONLY” seeing that they teach that Jesus died on the cross ONLY for the ELECT. Please read John 3:14-21 when the word “WORLD” is replaced with the word “ELECT” and see if it makes any SENSE to YOU my dear brothers and sister in our Lord Jesus Christ because it definitely makes absolutely NO sense to ME.
John 3:14-21 with the word ELECT in place of the word WORLD.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of man be lifted up: 15. That (Or so that) WHOSOEVER (But, according to Calvinism, the Son of man, Jesus, was lifted up ONLY for WHOSOEVER OF the ELECT that) BELIEVES in him should NOT perish, but have eternal life (But wait, does not Calvinism teach that EVERY SINGLE one of the ELECT will, without fail, BELIEVE? So why bother writing this passage of Scripture? For you see, ACCORDING to Calvinism, WHOSOEVER of the ELECT are PREDESTINED to BELIEVE and they have no choice in the matter) 16. For God so loved the WORLD, (That is to say, according to Calvinism, this verse MUST read, “For God so loved ONLY the ELECT”) that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER (Again, according to Calvinism, WHOSOEVER of ONLY the ELECT who) BELIEVES in him should NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life (Again, WHY even bother writing this passage of Scripture since, ACCORDING to Calvinism EVERY SINGLE one of the ELECT will BELIEVE without fail, but CLEARLY the word "WHOSOEVER" definitely teaches us that there WILL BE SOME of the WHOSOEVER who do NOT BELIEVE and therefore some of the WHOSOEVER WILL PERISH. In other words, a CHOICE is given to the WHOSOEVER as to whether or not they choose to BELIEVE or NOT believe. But wait a minute Calvinism teaches that mankind does NOT have a CHOICE in the matter, because every single person is PREDESTINE to either be saved or to be lost and there is NOTHING that they can do to CHANGE their predestined state). 17. For God sent not his Son into the WORLD (Or, according to Calvinism, God sent not his Son unto ONLY the ELECT) to condemn the WORLD; (Or to condemn ONLY the ELECT) BUT that the WORLD (Or, but rather, that ONLY the ELECT) through him might be SAVED. 18. He (Meaning WHOSOEVER of the WORLD, that is to say, ACCORDING to Calvinism, WHOSOEVER of ONLY the ELECT) that BELIEVES on him is NOT condemned: BUT he (Meaning WHOSOEVER of the WORLD which, ACCORDING to Calvinism, WHOSOEVER of ONLY the ELECT) that BELIEVES NOT is condemned already, BECAUSE he (Meaning WHOSOEVER of the WORLD, but ACCORDING to Calvinism, means WHOSOEVER of ONLY the ELECT that) has NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (Meaning that SOME of the ELECT will NOT BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God and will therefore PERISH) 19. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the WORLD, (CLEARLY, meaning ALL of mankind, but ACCORDING to Calvinism means this is the CONDEMNATION that LIGHT has come ONLY the ELECT) and MEN (Again, speaking of every single person in the entire world that believes NOT. But, according to Calvinism, the word men MUST mean ONLY the ELECT) loved darkness rather than light, because their (Again, according to Calvinism, the preposition “their” has to be speaking of ONLY the ELECT) deeds were evil. (So I guess this means, according to Calvinism, that the deeds of the rest of mankind are NOT EVIL) 20. For everyone (Of ONLY the ELECT, according to Calvinism) that does evil hates the light, NEITHER COMES to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (Which, to ME, would be saying that no matter how wonderfully God draws ONLY the ELECT with His so-called SPECIAL IRRESISTIBLE grace that NONE of ONLY the ELECT who does evil and hates the light will COME to the light and be saved) 21. BUT he (Again, according to Calvinism, means WHOSOEVER of ONLY the ELECT) that does the truth comes to the light, that HIS DEEDS (According to Calvinism, means that the deeds of ONLY the ELECT person that COMES to the LIGHT and DOES TRUTH) may be made manifest, that they (The GOOD DEEDS) are wrought in God.”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sister in our Lord Jesus Christ, that the very words “WHOSOEVER of the WORLD” demand that there are TWO classes of people. One class of people are those who BELIEVE and COME to the light and the other class of people is those who do NOT BELIEVE and COME to the light. You can NOT change the true meaning of the word “WORLD” to mean ONLY the elect just to TRY and support the man-made doctrine of Calvinism and Reformed Theology! So NO! Many thousands of times NO! The word “WORLD” in this particular passage of Scripture along with 1 John 2:2 does NOT mean ONLY the ELECT as Calvinism and Reformed Theology FALSELY teaches. The TRUTH of the matter is that Almighty God SO LOVED the entire WORLD, as in, EVERY SINGLE person ever born or yet to be born. And God gave His only begotten Son so that WHOSOEVER of every single person in the entire WORLD who BELIEVES in Jesus should NOT perish and WHOSOEVER of every single person in the entire WHOLE WORLD, who chooses NOT believe SHALL PERISH. CLEARLY, there are TWO classes of people being spoken of here in this passage of Scripture in order to make ANY logical sense whatsoever. One class of people BELIEVES and BECOMES one of the ELECT the MOMENT that they BELIEVE, and the other class REJECTS the TRUTH and REMAINS a SINNER by his or her OWN CHOICE and is therefore CONDEMNED to PERISH IF SO BE they do not REPENT and DO the WILL of God in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. Can you not see that Almighty God is NOT WILLING that ANY MAN should PERISH but that ALL of mankind should COME to the LIGHT and DO the TRUTH and TEACH the TRUTH? All false teachings “begin” with incorrectly interpreting just ONE verse of Scripture and then interpreting all the other verses of Scripture on the basis of the ONE Scripture that was incorrectly interpreted unknowingly. And Calvinism has incorrectly interpreted Ephesians 1:4 to wrongly mean that God chose ONLY certain select people to be saved before they were ever born. And they BASE their interpretation on their line of reasoning that SOME people will NOT be saved and that, to THEM makes God a FAILURE in THEIR eyes because it is God’s WILL to save ALL men. And the ONE false premise has caused Calvinistic and Reformed Theology Christians to try and FORCE all Scripture to agree with their FALSE premise. 2 Peter 2:9 teaches us that God's WILL is that ALL of mankind COME to REPENTANCE which means to TURN from WICKEDNESS and DO the TRUTH or DO the WILL of God. 2 Peter 2:9.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some MEN (The word “men” meaning ALL of mankind but I do agree that in this particular verse the FOCUS is on those who ALREADY made the CHOICE to BELIEVE where SOME Christians) count slackness; (In other words, some Christians are becoming worried about their yet unsaved loved ones and that time is running out for them to be saved. And Peter is comforting them) but (The Lord) is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING that ANY should PERISH, but that ALL should come to REPENTANCE.”
Now, almost all Christians know and understand that the word “ANY” means whosoever of every single person in the entire world. But, yet again, the Calvinist and the Reformed Theologian Christians MUST INTERPRET the words “ANY” and “ALL” in this verse to mean ONLY the ELECT. Otherwise, their entire doctrine would fall apart. For you see, ACCORDING to Calvinism, the ELECT will, without fail, be saved and they can NEVER LOSE their salvation. So WHY did Peter even write these words of comfort is so be that Peter and the rest of the Apostles of Jesus are Calvinistic and Reformed Theologians in what they believe and teach. God would have never inspired Peter to use such words as “ANY” and “ALL” if so be that God INTENDED to mean ONLY the so-called ELECT. But Calvinistic and Reformed Theology Christians have to FORCE their doctrine into the Scriptures. After all, if they do not twist the Scriptures then have their whole theology would fall by the wayside and all their followers would leave their churches. But the TRUTH of the matter is that the CONTEXT of this verse clearly shows the words “ANY” and “ALL” to mean BOTH the ELECT who BECAME the elect AFTER they believed as well as the rest of the entire human race. But again, I do agree that the FOCUS of this particular verse of Scripture is upon the ELECT. However, the correct sound Biblical meaning of the elect are those of us who have ALREADY made the CHOICE to BELIEVE and accept Jesus as our savior NOT to FALL AWAY as SOME of the ELECT already HAVE. In other words, the FOCUS of this verse is upon NOT FALLING AWAY from the faith. So of course the focus is upon the ELECT because unbelievers can not FALL AWAY from the faith that they never believed. That is to say, ONLY the ELECT can FALL AWAY from the faith because it is ONLY the ELECT who BELIEVE. Let us take the time to read the entire chapter which clearly teaches us that the ELECT is being WARNED to be DILIGENT for FEAR that they ALSO may fall away and become scoffers mocking or falsely teaching that Jesus is not coming by DOUBTING and saying where is the promise of his coming and then begin walking after their OWN LUST going into PERDITION as UNGODLY men.
2 Peter 3:1-18.
“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I STIR UP your pure minds by way of remembrance: (So Peter is definitely talking to true born-again believers) 2. That you may be MINDFUL of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior: 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days, SCOFFERS, walking after their OWN LUST, 4. And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (So you see, the SCOFFERS here is referring to the ELECT who are now DOUBTING that the Lord is COMING and they went back to living in a lifestyle of sin after their OWN lust. Remember the rest of the world, ACCORDING to Calvinism are SO TOTALLY DEPRAVED and dead that they CANNOT possible UNDERSTAND the word of God and do NOT CARE whether or not Jesus is coming. So the scoffers are backslidden Christians who are MOCKING the rest of the Christians that are still holding fast to their faith that Jesus is coming) 5. For this they (Speaking of the fallen from grace scoffing ELECT) are willingly are ignorant (Or, according to their own free will, they are ignorant) of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some MEN count slackness (Speaking of SOME of the ELECT in the latter days who will SCOFF and say WHERE is the PROMISE of his COMING. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, an UNBELIEVER could care less of the promise of the coming of Jesus. So the words, SOME men, is speaking of SOME true born-again Christians that have been deceived by Satan to now DOUBT the return of Jesus so much that they mock and scoff at the faithful Christians who could also begin to doubt as well. And Peter is comforting the faithful Christians saying) but (The Lord) is longsuffering to us-ward, (Speaking of the ELECT who are remaining faithful but are starting to doubt. And Pater is comforting the faithful Christians that are starting to doubt saying that the Lord is) not willing that ANY should perish, (Speaking of ANY of the unsaved loved ones but also speaking of the unfaithful disobedient ELECT who have now become SCOFFERS and lost IF they do not repent and come back to the true faith to endure unto the end to be saved. Again, the word “ANY” also refers to whosoever of the REST of mankind who has not heard the gospel as yet. God is not willing that ANY should perish) but that ALL (Speaking ALL of whosoever person in the entire world INCLUDING those now unfaithful backslidden ELECT who are walking after their OWN LUST and SCOFFING at the faithful ELECT) should come to repentance. 10. But (Or but know this that Jesus IS coming again and) the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11. SEEING THEN that all these things shall be dissolved, WHAT MANNER of persons ought YOU to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13. Nevertheless we, (The FAITHFUL BELIEVERS) according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. 14. WHEREFORE, (Or for this REASON) beloved, seeing that you look for such things, BE DILIGENT that YOU may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (BUT wait, I thought Calvinism and Reformed Theology taught UNCONDITIONAL Election which teaches that salvation is based on NOTHING man will or will not do. But rather. Unconditional election states that God has already chosen who will be saved BEFORE that foundation of the world and they cannot ever LOSE their salvation no matter what they do or do not do. But yet the Bible itself clearly teaches us that we must be DILIGENT to keep sin out of our lives so that we will be found without spot or blemish) 15. And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, has written unto YOU; 16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their OWN DESTRUCTION (Remember, Calvinism teaches that NO man seeks after God EXCEPT the ELECT whom God has REGENERATED first. But here in the Bible itself, we see PLAINLY the ELECT who do not UNDERSTAND wrestle or twist the Scriptures to their own destruction. And thus, their NOT understanding has caused some of them to be DESTROYED because they fell away and began walking after their OWN LUST and SCOFFED at the FAITHFUL BELIEVERS) 17. You, therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, BEWARE lest (Or for FEAR THAT) YOU ALSO, being led away with the error of the wicked, FALL from your own steadfastness. 18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”
You see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, it is IN the coming to the KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH that men are SAVED by the HEARING of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ, and NOT that a person must be born again or REGENERATED FIRST in order to be ABLE to come to or UNDERSTAND the TRUTH enough to be SAVED. Can you not see, that some of the BELOVED saints here in this passage of Scripture, who are clearly true born-again BELIEVERS, have fallen away from the faith and began to SCOFF at the faithful believers saying where is the promise of the coming of Jesus. Those once faithful Christians FELL from grace by returning into PERDITION as UNGODLY men and Peter is WARNING the FAITHFUL Christians to be DILIGENT lest they ALSO FALL from their own steadfastness. You see, ACCORDING to the doctrine of TOTAL DEPRAVITY, the BELOVED can ONLY be the ELECT because ONLY the ELECT can SEEK after God. In other words, ACCORDING to Calvinism, absolutely NONE, NO NOT ONE single non-elect person would give a hoot whether or not Jesus is going to fulfill the promise of his coming. Also, the doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL Election teaches that ALL of the ELECT shall be saved and NONE of the ELECT shall FALL AWAY and lose their salvation. But CLEARLY, here in this passage of Scripture, the true born-again believer is being WARNED to be DILIGENT for FEAR that they ALSO fall away to walk after their OWN LUST and go into PERDITION as UNGODLY men as these others have already done.
2 Peter 3:17.
“You, therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, BEWARE lest (Or for FEAR THAT) YOU ALSO, being led away with the error of the wicked, FALL from your own steadfastness.”
You cannot be steadfast in your OWN steadfastness if you are a reprobate supposedly chose to be lost, according to Calvinism. The CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God is that it is the WILL or the INTENT and desire of God that NO MAN, as in, NOT EVEN ON SINGLE HUMAN being, should PERISH including those who have come to the knowledge of the truth and have BELIEVED in Jesus and have confessed Jesus to be their Savior. For you see, SOME true born-again Christians but have FALLEN AWAY and are presently living after their OWN LUST, but God still yet DESIRES them to be saved by repenting and confessing their sins. So then the FOCUS of this passage of Scripture is that God WILLS or desires Christians to be DILIGENT to NOT fall away. But if some Christians become deceived and they do fall away, then it is also God’s Will for them, speaking of the true born-again believers who have fallen back into sin AND the rest of yet unsaved mankind NOT to PERISH, but rather, to come to REPENTANCE and be SAVED. The Scripture says WHOSOEVER BELIEVES shall be saved and NOT that ONLY the ELECT shall be REGENERATED or born again FIRST and by God's IRRESISTIBLE grace they are DRAWN to God so that they can NOW UNDERSTAND the word enough to BELIEVE and be saved. This makes absolutely NO SENSE whatsoever. Think about this for a moment and let it SINK IN. To be BORN AGAIN means to be SAVED! Yes, of course, it does! So then, ACCORDING to Calvinism ONLY the ELECT MUST be BORN AGAIN or SAVED FIRST in order to be ABLE to UNDERSTAND the word of God ENOUGH to be SAVED. Simply put Calvinism is saying that the ELECT must be SAVED FIRST BEFORE they can be SAVED. So ACCORDING to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, that means God does NOT need to CALL any of his ELECT by the GOSPEL, because they are ALREADY SAVED by REGENERATION even BEFORE they HEAR the GOSPEL. But this is NOT what the word of TRUTH teaches us. The word of God says WHOSOEVER BELIEVES shall be SAVED. And that we are CALLED BY the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ to be saved. And that it PLEASE God that BY the foolishness of PREACHING to save only those who BELIEVE. Then in Romans 10:13,14, we are taught that FAITH comes by HEARING. In other words, HOW shall the sinner BELIEVE unless they HEAR GOSPEL PREACHED to them.
Romans 10:13,14.
“For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be SAVED. 14. HOW then shall they CALL on him in whom they have not believed? and HOW shall they BELIEVE in him of whom they have not heard? and HOW shall they HEAR without a preacher?”
To ADD the words whosoever “OF THE ELECT ONLY” to the word of truth is to distort and twist the true meaning of the word of Almighty God. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, the WHAT that Almighty God CHOSE from BEFORE that foundation of the world was that the SALVATION of mankind is to be IN or THROUGH faith in His Son Jesus the Christ. And ANOTHER thing that God CHOSE was that the gospel or the good news of SALVATION of mankind be brought or offered to ALL of mankind through the foolishness of PREACHING so that or in order that ALL who BELIEVE the true GOSPEL will be saved. So it is the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ that is the CALLING whosever will listen, receive, and BELIEVE the gospel to be saved and then they shall be SAVED or REGENERATED after they have BELIEVED the gospel. Please read 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 which teaches us that the preaching of the gospel is the POWER of God unto salvation to us who BELIEVE and that God CHOSE the foolishness of PREACHING to SAVE all who BELIEVE.
1 Corinthians 1:18-21.
“For the PREACHING of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are SAVED, it is the POWER of God. 19. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it PLEASED God BY the foolishness of PREACHING to SAVE them that BELIEVE.”
Even with all this CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE evidence from God's word, there are some Christians who refuse to accept the TRUTH because of what they have been previously TAUGHT. So then, let us take a CLOSER look at the verses that Calvinist and Reformed Theology Christians use to teach that REGENERATION or being BORN-AGAIN comes BEFORE the UNDERSTANDING of the GOSPEL enough to be SAVED. However, is the Calvinistic teaching of regeneration BEFORE a person can understand the gospel enough to be saved what the clear, plain, and simple word of God teaches us?
Please read Titus 3:5, which says.
“NOT by works of righteousness which we have done, BUT according to HIS MERCY HE SAVED us, BY the washing of REGENERATION, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
This is the verse of Scripture that is used by Calvinistic and Reformed Theology Christians to try and prove that the Holy Spirit must regenerate the elect FIRST before they can understand the gospel enough to BELIEVE and be saved. Basically, they are saying that the elect must be saved FIRST before they can be saved because the word regeneration means being saved or being born-again as a new creature created in Jesus Christ by being forgiven of all our past sins. Now, as I have said many times, ANY verse when taken OUT of CONTEXT and viewed ALONE and APART from the WHOLE word of God may SEEM to be saying something that it is not truly saying. So then let us first read the CONTEXT in which this verse is found and then COMPARE it to the WHOLE word of God to see what this verse is truly teaching us. First, we will need to read a bit from the previous chapter of Titus to get the bigger picture. So please read Titus 2:11-15 before we continue on into the next chapter and the verse in question.
Titus 2:11-15.
“For the GRACE of God that BRINGS salvation has appeared to ALL MEN, 12. TEACHING us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should LIVE soberly, RIGHTEOUSLY, and GODLY, IN THIS PRESENT world; 13. Looking for that blessed hope, (Speaking of the resurrection and our change from mortality to immortality) AND the glorious appearing of the great God AND our Savior Jesus Christ; 14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of GOOD WORKS. 15. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise you.”
We all know that we are SAVED BY GRACE and that without the GRACE and MERCY of God there would not be any SALVATION for anyone, because while we were yet sinners, it was Almighty God himself, who ALONE CHOSE to save the LOST SINNERS. Of this TRUTH we ALL agree, Amen! But it seems that Calvinism and Reformed Theology has forgotten that ALL men have SINNED and have fallen short of the glory of God. Did not Jesus say that he came to save the LOST? And are not ALL men LOST, until they accept Jesus as their savior? So how then can anyone teach that Jesus did NOT die for the LOST in which he came to SAVE? And how can Jesus save the LOST that for whom he supposedly did NOT die? The truth of the matter is that Jesus did indeed die not ONLY for OUR sins but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD. But this so great of salvation can only be RECEIVED by those who BELIEVE. Now here is Titus 2:11,12 we clearly see that the GRACE of Almighty God has APPEARED or has been made AVAILABLE to ALL of mankind and that it is this GRACE of Almighty God which TEACHES us to LIVE a godly and RIGHTEOUS life and to be zealous of doing GOOD WORKS. In other words, we need to stay in God's word and CONTINUE in what the whole word of God TEACHES us in order to receive the promise of eternal life in the world to come. Now let us continue into the next chapter. Please read Titus 3:1-8, which teaches us that the GRACE of Almighty God that has appeared to ALL MEN truly MEANS ALL of MANKIND and NOT just the elect as some falsely teach.
Titus 3:1-8.
“Put THEM (Speaking of those who have NOT BELIEVED, put THEM) in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every GOOD WORK, 2. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto ALL MEN. 3. For (Or because) we ourselves ALSO were sometimes foolish, disobedient, DECEIVED, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. (In other words, we ourselves were once lost in sin like the rest of the world who have not yet believed and who are still yet living after their own lust not realizing their need for a savior) 4. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward MAN (Speaking of toward ALL of MANKIND) APPEARED, (So then, HOW and WHY did the GRACE, love, kindness, and SALVATION of God through our savior Jesus Christ and NOT of our own works of righteousness APPEAR to ALL of mankind?) 5. NOT BY works of righteousness which we have done, BUT according to his MERCY he SAVED us, BY the WASHING of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6. Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior (In other words, ALL the GLORY goes to Almighty God and His Son Jesus. We are HIS workmanship and NOT our OWN); 7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the HOPE of eternal life. (Which is given to ONLY those of us who remain faithful unto the end) 8. This is a faithful saying and these things I will that you affirm constantly, that they which have BELIEVED in God might be careful to MAINTAIN good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
Certainly, we ALL AGREE that we are NOT washed clean from all our past sins BY our OWN works of RIGHTEOUSNESS which we have done. And CERTAINLY, we all AGREE that the reason why ALMIGHTY God who REGENERATED us is because of HIS love and kindness TOWARD us and NOT by any good work of our OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS that we have done. Yes, CERTAINLY we all AGREE that our RENEWING or our NEW BIRTH is THROUGH Jesus Christ and NOT by our OWN works of RIGHTEOUSNESS which we ourselves have done. But where I myself personally DISAGREE is with the FALSE teaching that REGENERATION or being BORN AGAIN of the Holy Spirit MUST comes FIRST BEFORE anyone can UNDERSTAND the gospel enough to CALL upon the name of the Lord and be saved is that the Calvinist and those of Reformed Theology dogmatically demand that regeneration MUST come FIRST and BEFORE any person can be ABLE to UNDERSTAND the GOSPEL enough to CALL upon the Lord to be SAVED. So then, what does the word of TRUTH have to say as which comes FIRST? Does our BELIEVING in the preaching of the GOSPEL come FIRST whereby the word of Almighty God itself PRODUCES this washing away of all our past sins where we become new creatures in Jesus Christ being REGENERATED and renewed by the Holy Spirit? Or does the REGENERATION and RENEWING of the Holy Spirit or the NEW BIRTH come first before the gospel is preached to a person? Before we go any further, some of you may be wondering why the Calvinist and Reformed Theologians dogmatically demand that the NEW BIRTH or the REGENERATION of the Holy Spirit must come FIRST before anyone can BELIEVE the gospel of Jesus Christ. You see the Calvinist and the Reformed Theologians also teach that NO one seeks after God, because ALL of mankind are TOTALLY DEPRAVED. Please read under the section “T” which stands for the doctrine of TOTAL DEPRAVITY or TOTAL INABILITY for a deeper understanding of why this doctrine is a FALSE teaching. But for now, the doctrine of TOTAL DEPRAVITY teaches that a person can NOT understand the word of God enough to call upon the name of Jesus and be saved UNTIL they are regenerated or born again by the Holy Spirit FIRST. So therefore they conclude that a person must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit FIRST. It all sounds like circular reasoning to me with no real sound BIBLICAL support. So then, let us take a CLOSER look at one of the verses they use to try and support their line of REASONING. One of the reasons they come to this conclusion is they INCORRECTLY interpret what the SPIRITUAL meaning of the word "DEAD" means. But before we read this verse where the Bible says that we were ALL dead I would like you to please read 1 Corinthians 2:14.
1 Corinthians 2:14.
“But the NATURAL MAN (Which the Calvinist and those of Reformed Theology Christians FALSELY INTERPRET to mean ONLY the person who is NOT REGENERATED FIRST) receives NOT the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: NEITHER CAN he (Speaking of the NATURAL MAN, which in TRUTH is NOT just person who has not yet been born again, but ALSO the natural man speaks of some true born again believers, who are yet carnal, are also considered NATURAL in their thinking. In other words, EVEN a REGENERATED person's thinking or reasoning is referred to as the reasoning of a NATURAL man. So then neither can HE speaking of both the regenerated believer and the unbeliever) KNOW them, because they are SPIRITUALLY discerned.”
So again, the Calvinist and Reformed Theologians take this verse OUT of CONTEXT and teach that the NATURAL man here in this verse is speaking of ONLY a person who has NOT been REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit and therefore is so totally depraved that he or she can NOT understand the word of God enough to be saved. But what does the WHOLE word of God teach us that this verse is TRULY saying? Well, let us read the CONTEXT to find out. Please read 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and 3 for the whole context, but for the sake of space I will start with 1 Corinthians 2:1 so you can plainly see that the writer is speaking to TRUE BORN AGAIN REGENERATED believers here in this passage of scripture, where some are yet BEING CARNAL or NATURAL men because they were NOT receiving the word of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1
“And I, BRETHREN, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.”
So clearly. the ones being spoken to here in this passage of scripture are TRUE BORN AGAIN REGENERATED BELIEVERS. Now let us skip down to verse 9 and read all the way through into chapter 3 verse 4.
1 Corinthians 2:9 through 1 Corinthians 3:4.
“But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that LOVE him. 10. But God has REVEALED them unto us BY his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11. For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God no man knows, but the Spirit of God. 12. Now WE have RECEIVED, NOT the spirit of the world, BUT the SPIRIT which is of God; (WHY? Why do we receive the Holy Spirit to DWELL IN us?) THAT (Or so that) WE might KNOW the things that are freely given to us of God. (Well, I know several true born-again brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who do NOT KNOW that God loves them and that God desires to HEAL them. They do not KNOW this blessing of healing that has been freely given to them. Other believers do not understand that God cares for them and desires to meet their needs) 13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; COMPARING spiritual things with spiritual. 14. But the NATURAL man (Or but those of YOU my BRETHREN as well as those in the world) receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto HIM: (Speaking of the NATURAL man who does NOT COMPARE spiritual things like being DEAD with spiritual rather than comparing spiritual things with the NATURAL things) neither can HE (Those of YOU my BRETHREN as well as those in the world, neither can none of you) KNOW them, (WHY? Why does the world and even some true born again believers not KNOW the things that are freely given to us to know?) BECAUSE they (Speaking of SPIRITUAL things like being DEAD) are spiritually discerned. 15. But he (Of you my brethren) that IS spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. Continuing right on into chapter 3 verses 1-4. 1. And I, BRETHREN, (Clearly showing us that the writer is still speaking to TRUE BORN AGAIN REGENERATED believers who are yet NATURAL men who do NOT DISCERN spiritual things even though they themselves have the Holy Spirit of Almighty God DWELLING IN them. The writer goes on to say to those who do NOT compare spiritual things with spiritual, I brethren) could NOT speak unto YOU as unto SPIRITUAL, BUT as unto CARNAL, (Or NATURAL men) even as unto babes IN Christ. 2. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto YOU (Speaking of true born again regenerated believers) were NOT able to bear it, neither yet now are you able. (WHY? Why are they NOT yet able to receive the TRUTH?) 3. For you are yet CARNAL: (Or YOU BRETHREN are yet NATURAL men who do NOT COMPARE spiritual things, like being DEAD, with spiritual things, they are foolishness to you because you have not SPIRITUALLY discerned) for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as MEN? (Or as NATURAL men in the world) 4. For while one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not CARNAL?”
Now CLEARLY, the context of this passage of Scripture, which is speaking of NATURAL men NOT being able to UNDERSTAND the word of God, is speaking of BOTH the REGENERATED BORN-AGAIN man who does NOT COMPARE spiritual things, like being DEAD, as in, like being a BABE IN Christ who is not yet matured to understand spiritual things. And, as well, this verse is also speaking of the natural carnal man who has not yet been REGENERATED, who also are walking after the own fleshly desire. If you still have doubts that these were TRUE BORN-AGAIN believers who have the Holy Spirit DWELLING IN them, then please read verse 16 of 1 Corinthians chapter 3, which is still clearly the CONTEXT of what and who is being discussed.
1 Corinthians 3:16.
“Know you not that YOU are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in YOU?”
Now, we all know that the Holy Spirit CANNOT dwell IN a person who has not yet been REGENERATED or born again by the Holy Spirit, because that vessel must be made NEW before the new wine speaking of the Holy Spirit come IN to dwell within the BELIEVER. The word of God clearly teaches us that the WORLD can NOT receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. My point is this, you can be a true born-again believer and STILL not UNDERSTAND some portions of God's word. This is why we are instructed to STUDY God's word and to RIGHTLY divide God's word. This is why we are instructed to be like the men in Berea to read and search the word of God daily so that we will know if the things we are being TAUGHT are in fact the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. The TRUTH of the matter is that the Bible teaches us that God has already GIVEN to EVERY man the same measure of FAITH, meaning that each and every person has been given all the faith they need. That is to say, every one of mankind has been given the ABILITY to BELIEVE the word of Almighty God, which God requires in order to be saved. Please read Romans 12:1-3, which teaches us that we are not to exalt ourselves with pride or think that we have MORE faith than any other person. Now I realize that the context of the passage of scripture is FOCUSED upon true born-again believers just like the passage of Scripture we just read about the NATURAL man, but in truth, both passages are speaking of ALL of mankind.
Romans 12:1-3.
“I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ACCEPTABLE unto God, which is your reasonable service. (In other words, the commandments of God which we are COMMANDED to KEEP are NOT grievous) 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may PROVE what is that good, and ACCEPTABLE, and perfect, WILL of God. 3. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according, as God has dealt to EVERY man THE measure of faith.”
In other words, Almighty God has already given to EVERY single person the SAME ABILITY to BELIEVE. Every single person has the ABILITY to BELIEVE that there is NO God the same that EVERY person has the ABILITY to BELIEVE that there IS a God. EVERY person has the ABILITY to BELIEVE in a FALSE god exactly the same as EVERY person has the ABILITY or THE SAME MEASURE of FAITH that Almighty God has ALREADY GIVEN them to BELIEVE in the one true and ONLY Almighty God. FAITH COME by HEARING. Some Christians believe in Calvinism because most likely this is what they have heard first. Yes, I understand the some are DECEIVED into believing FALSE doctrines such as Calvinism after they have first heard the truth, which proves that Calvinism is false because Calvinism also teaches that the elect cannot lose their salvation. When a person leaves Calvinism and comes to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, then those who remain in Calvinism say that they were never truly born again even though the ones who leave Calvinism worship God with all their heart right alongside those who have remained in Calvinism and try and say that the ones who have left were never truly saved. We will go deeper into this under section “P” the PERSEVERANCE of the SAINTS, but for now, let us continue with God has given to EVERY person all the FAITH that they need to BELIEVE what they HEAR. Not that they WILL believe the TRUTH, but rather that they have been given the CHOICE to believe that which they themselves DECIDE to believe. Again, the word of truth also teaches us that this faith COMES or more precisely this ABILITY to BELIEVE ARISES within us BY HEARING, and hearing or true UNDERSTANDING comes or arises within us by the word of God, meaning the WHOLE word of God. You see, people cannot BELIEVE in something they have not HEARD. Everything we believe comes because we FIRST HEARD something. You HEAR a sound outside, but cannot SEE what made the sound. You then CONSIDER what you HEARD in your MIND to determine what you believe the sound may be based upon what you have learned from the past. So then, and HOW shall they BELIEVE in that which they have NOT HEARD. And HOW shall they HEAR unless the GOSPEL is PREACHED to them.
Please read Romans 10:8-17.
“But what says it? The WORD is nigh you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the WORD of FAITH, which we PREACH; 9. That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. (In other words, the PREACHING of the gospel or the WORD which you have HEARD stirred up or caused FAITH to arise in your heart to CONFESS what you came to BELIEVE from HEARING the GOSPEL or the word of God) 10. FOR (or BECAUSE) with the heart man (WHOSOEVER of ALL of mankind) believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. 11. For the SCRIPTURE says, WHOSOEVER believes on him shall not be ashamed. 12. For there is NO difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over ALL is rich unto ALL that CALL upon him. (You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, at this period in history there were only TWO types or classes of people, the JEWS, who BELIEVED in the one true and only Almighty God, AND the GENTILES who did NOT believe in the one true God. In other words, these TWO groups made up the ENTIRE POPULATION of the WHOLE world. You were either a JEW who believed in the one true God, or you were a GENTILE who did not believe in the one true God, as in, the Gentiles did not have a COVENANT with God) 13. For WHOSOEVER (Of these TWO different groups of people, which together make up the ENTIRE POPULATION of the whole world. WHOSOEVER of the entire world who) shall CALL upon the name of the Lord shall be SAVED. 14. HOW then shall they CALL on him in whom they have NOT BELIEVED? And HOW shall they BELIEVE in him of whom they have NOT HEARD? And HOW shall they HEAR without a PREACHER? 15. And how shall they preach, except they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (In other words, God has done his part by sending his WORD as well as those to PREACH his word, and NOW it is up to MANKIND the HEAR the word of TRUTH, the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ and then decide for themselves if they themselves want to make the CHOICE to BELIEVE or REJECT the word of TRUTH) 16. But they have NOT all OBEYED the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? 17. So then faith comes (Or arises, or is stirred up within us) BY HEARING, and hearing (Or true understanding comes) by the word of God.”
So then, the ORDER or the STEPS that take place to bring about the salvation of a person according to the word of TRUTH are as follows:
#1. First, a person HEARS the word of God, the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ that CALLS people to repent of their sins and be saved. But HOW shall they HEAR unless the gospel is PREACHED to them. It PLEASED God that BY the foolishness of PREACHING to SAVE them which BELIEVE the gospel of Jesus Christ.
#2. Second, a person must BELIEVE the gospel of Jesus Christ.
#3. Thirdly, after considering the gospel that they have heard, the word is sown in the HEART of the person who has heard the word of truth, then CONFESSION is made unto SALVATION. #4. NOW, after those three steps, this BELIEVER is REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit of God only after hearing, considering, and then BELIEVING with their heart the word of truth, before CONFESSION is made to bring about SALVATION or the NEW BIRTH, and THEN that person is REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit.
Now whether or not a person BELIEVES depends on several things. One of those things may be as to how well was the gospel EXPLAINED to them. Another thing might be that what they were taught previously may be hindering them from receiving the TRUTH. Did the preacher adequately PERSUADE the person that what they were previously TAUGHT is NOT the TRUTH? Yet another thing may very well be that there are MORE and STRONGER evil spirits blinding the eyes to the truth of the gospel of those that reject the truth than there are evil spirits who once blinded the eyes of those who heard the gospel and now BELIEVE the word of truth? In other words, evil spirits hang out where they are allowed to hang out. So social environment plays a role. If a person is raised in an atheist environment then the strongholds of evil spirits of atheism are stronger. Did you pray for their eyes of understanding to be opened BEFORE you preached the gospel to them? Did you pray in FAITH without wavering? Are you praying without ceasing, that is to say, are you still yet holding FAST with great CONFIDENCE without giving up and being patient unto the end or until what you are believing for comes into being? Do you yourself BELIEVE in the POWER of the GOSPEL to bring light to the person to whom you are preaching the word of God? Or are you WONDERING if they may actually be one of the so-called ELECT? You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, YOU nor anyone else can BELIEVE that Jesus died for YOU if you or they do not believe that Jesus died for ALL of mankind, which would then INCLUDE YOU as well as THEM. The Bible teaches us that anything that is not of faith is sin. So for ME, to believe that Jesus did NOT die for ME would be sin. And the ONLY way that I can know with all my heart that Jesus died for ME is to believe the word of TRUTH that clearly teaches me that Jesus died for the sins of the WHOLE world. And WHOSOEVER in the WHOLE word who BELIEVES in the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be saved. The TRUTH of the matter is that it is THROUGH the GOSPEL or BY the WORD of God that a person is actually BEGOTTEN or BORN AGAIN by the Holy Spirit. Please read 1 Peter 1:23, which CLEARLY teaches us that a person is BORN AGAIN BY the WORD of God.
1 Peter 1:23.
“Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, BY the WORD of God, which LIVES and abides forever.”
And a person can NOT be born-again or REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit until AFTER they BELIEVE the WORD of truth. You see, the WORD of Almighty God is ALIVE and it QUICKENS or makes alive those who BELIEVE. Ephesians 6:17 teaches us that the WORD of Almighty God is the SWORD of the Spirit. In other words, the WORD of God is the WEAPON or TOOL that the Holy Spirit uses to QUICKEN or to MAKE ALIVE the person, who BELIEVES the WORD of TRUTH, the GOSPEL. Please read Hebrews 4:11-14, which teaches us that the WORD of God is ALIVE and is sharper than any man-made two-edged sword. This passage also teaches us that we MUST endure unto the END and NOT cast away our profession or confession of FAITH after we are saved in order to receive eternal life in the world to come.
Hebrews 4:11-14.
“Let us LABOR, (Or let us WORK) therefore, to ENTER INTO that rest (speaking of entering into or obtaining ETERNAL LIFE), LEST (or for FEAR that) ANY man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12. For the WORD of God is QUICK, (Or ALIVE and is able to not only make those ALIVE who were once DEAD, but the WORD is also able to KEEP those who were made ALIVE by the word ALIVE unto the receiving of ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, (Speaking of the man-made sword, possibly even man-made DOCTRINE) piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is one who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart 13. Neither is there ANY CREATURE that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us HOLD FAST our profession.”
So then, it is the WORD of God that QUICKENS or MAKES ALIVE those who BELIEVE. It is the WORD of God that brings about the new birth or the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Now those that teach Calvinism and Reformed Theology quote Ephesians 1:1-12 repeatedly to try and support their interpretation of the word of God, but rarely do they ever quote verse 13 of this same chapter, and if they do I personally have never seen them EMPHASIZE Ephesians 1:13, which CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches us that HEARING the WORD of TRUTH comes BEFORE a person BELIEVES. Here is Ephesians 1:13, which clearly and plainly teaches us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Almighty God AFTER we have BELIEVED.
Ephesians 1:1-12.
“In whom you also trusted, AFTER that you HEARD the word of TRUTH, the GOSPEL of your SALVATION: in whom ALSO AFTER that you BELIEVED, you were sealed (Or marked, or made known to the enemy that you are now a NEW creature created in Christ Jesus) with that holy Spirit of promise,”
In other words, AFTER a person HEARS the WORD of TRUTH, the GOSPEL that BRINGS salvation to WHOSOEVER or to WHATEVER person of EVERY tribe and nation throughout the whole world who makes their OWN CHOICE to BELIEVE the gospel. THEN AFTER a person BELIEVES the word of TRUTH, the GOSPEL that BRINGS salvation, they are sealed or given the Holy Spirit to DWELL IN them. And it is this indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a BELIEVER that leads and guides the believer into all truth. And it is the TRUTH of God's word that continues to regenerate the believer so long as they CONTINUE in the TRUTH. Can you not see my dear brothers and sister in our Lord Jesus Christ, that the WASHING of all of our past sins comes because we BELIEVE the word of TRUTH and REPENT of our sins CONFESSING them before God and THEN Almighty God PERFORMS his WORD and is FAITHFUL and just to FORGIVE us of all our sins. Then once this earthly vessel has been CLEANSED from all our past sins by the blood of the Lamb, THEN and ONLY THEN can the Holy Spirit of Almighty God come INTO our hearts to DWELL. Remember Titus 2:11,12 that we read teaches us that it is the GRACE of Almighty God the BRINGS salvation and that this GRACE has appeared to MAN. Now HOW this GRACE of God BRINGS salvation to mankind is that this grace of God TEACHES us that we are to LIVE godly and righteously before him IN this PRESENT world.
Titus 2:11,12.
“For the grace of God that BRINGS salvation has APPEARED to ALL MEN, 12. TEACHING us (Speaking of those who have RECEIVED this grace of God and so great a salvation) that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should LIVE soberly, RIGHTEOUSLY, and GODLY, IN THIS PRESENT world;”
Can you not see, that when a GIFT is BROUGHT to a person and that person does NOT RECEIVE or ACCEPT the GIFT, then the GIFT is of no value to that particular person. It has nothing to do with the GIVER of the GIFT, and it has nothing to do with the GIFT itself as to whether or not a person RECEIVES or ACCEPTS the gift or the giver or the giver of the gift. Almighty God does not force his love upon any of His creation, but rather, Almighty God has given the CALL to WHOSOEVER of ALL of mankind that BELIEVES and ACCEPTS his CALL to RECEIVE his free gift of salvation that those who BELIEVE will be RECONCILED to him or SAVED, as in, the meaning of being brought back into right relationship with him. In other words, WHOSOEVER BELIEVES the gospel of Jesus Christ will be WASHED CLEAN of all their PAST sins, and then REGENERATED and RENEWED by the Holy Spirit to be a NEW CREATURE IN Christ Jesus. The word “WHOSOEVER” means every, all, anyone, as many as, who, whoever, whatever person. In other words, WHATEVER PERSON who BELIEVES shall be SAVED, and WHATEVER PERSON rejects the gospel and does NOT believe shall PERISH. Then AFTER a person BELIEVES the gospel of Jesus Christ, THEN that person is BORN AGAIN BY the word of God. In other words, no one is regenerated by the Holy Spirit FIRST before they can understand the gospel enough to be saved and some FALSELY teach. But rather a person believes FIRST and THEN they are born again or regenerated BY the word of truth which they just heard and BELIEVED. Now let us take a CLOSE look at 1 Timothy 2:4, which teaches us ACCORDING to Calvinism that ALL MEN does NOT mean every single person, but mean ONLY the ELECT. Calvinism teaches that SINCE it is entirely up to God who is going to be saved because ACCORDING to Calvinism God CHOSE from BEFORE he ever created mankind as to who would be saved and who would be destroyed. THEREFORE, again, according to Calvinism, man has NO CHOICE in the matter, THUS God would have ALL MEN meaning ONLY the ELECT will be saved, or God ONLY WILLS the ELECT to be saved and therefore WILLS all other of mankind to be LOST and there is NOTHING any man can do to CHANGE their PREDESTINATION. Now to ME, this is NOT GOOD NEWS at all. I mean NOT knowing whether or not you are one of the so-called ELECT that is going to be saved and also knowing that if you are one of the unlucky ones to not be one of the elect that there is NOTHING you can do to change your predestine state. But what does the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ, the word of TRUTH, teach us about who ALL MEN are speaking of here in 1 Timothy 2:4. 1 Timothy 2:4.
“Who will have ALL MEN to be SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the TRUTH.”
Now when viewed ALONE and APART from the WHOLE word of God I suppose a person can say these words ALL MEN mean anything they WANT these words ALL MEN to mean. But when LEFT in the CONTEXT it is CLEAR that these words, “Who WILL have or who DESIRES to have ALL MEN to be SAVED and COME to the KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH” mean ALL of MANKIND, as in, EVERY single person in the whole world. Please read 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and notice that we as believers are exhorted to pray for ALL MEN.
1 Timothy 2:1-4.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, BE MADE for ALL MEN; 2. For kings, and for ALL that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4. Who will have (Or who DESIRES to have) ALL MEN (Including kings and ALL who are in authority) to be SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Now, no one who has seriously given any thought to what this passage of Scripture truly means rather than interjecting their OWN private INTERPRETATION into the text will honestly say that ALL kings and ALL who are in AUTHORITY throughout the whole world in all times of history are ALL ONLY the ELECT. NO, many thousands of times NO! The word ALL does NOT mean ONLY the ELECT as some FALSELY teach, but rather ALL MEN means exactly what it says in clear, plain, and simple words that are easily understood by those seeking the TRUTH of the whole word of God. So then, it makes absolutely NO SENSE to TRY and CHANGE the meaning in verse 4 of ALL MEN to mean ONLY the ELECT, when in verse 1 in this SAME passage of scripture the words, “ALL MEN” clearly mean ALL MEN, as in EVERY human being. To ME, this is an absolute absurdity to go through the entire New Testament and try and CHANGE the CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE meanings of the words “ALL MEN” from meaning ALL of MANKIND as in EVERY SINGLE person to make it FIT their man-made doctrine that falsely teaches that Almighty God loves ONLY the ELECT and desires for ONLY the ELECT to be saved so, therefore, Jesus did NOT die for the sins of ALL of mankind, but rather Jesus died for ONLY the ELECT. Please read 1 John 2:2 again, but read it CAREFULLY and PRAYERFULLY, because these are CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE words, easily to be understood by those who COMPARE SPIRITUAL things with spiritual. In fact, these words are so SIMPLE that they really need absolutely NO INTERPRETATION whatsoever to be understood.
1 John 2:2.
“And he (Jesus) is the propitiation (Or the ATONEMENT, the RANSOM, the PRICE of REDEMPTION) for our sins: and NOT for ours ONLY, but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.”
How can anyone DENY that Jesus did not BUY the salvation of ALL of mankind with the PRICE he paid? The Bible teaches us that there shall be FALSE teachers in the last days teaching damnable and destructive HERESIES, even DENYING that the Lord BOUGHT them. And Calvinism fits this description to the letter.
Please read 2 Peter 2:1,2, which says.
“But there were FALSE prophets also among the people, EVEN as there shall be FALSE teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, EVEN DENYING the Lord that BOUGHT them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of TRUTH shall be evil spoken of.”
You see, Calvinism and Reformed Theology FALSELY teach that the Lord Jesus Christ did NOT BUY or atone for their sins. In other words, if you are a Calvinist that teaches that Jesus did NOT die for the sins of EVERYONE, then YOU yourself have NO WAY of knowing that Jesus died for YOU. So in essence you yourself are DENYING that the blood of Jesus BOUGHT you or redeemed YOU from your sins. There is absolutely NO WAY that you can know for SURE that Jesus died for YOU unless you believe that Jesus died for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD like the word of TRUTH clearly teaches us. So then, to continue to teach that Jesus did NOT BUY or pay the PRICE of REDEMPTION of ALL of mankind is to DENY that the Lord BOUGHT THEM. And this is a DAMNABLE and DESTRUCTIVE HERESY, even DENYING the Lord that BOUGHT THEM. And YOU, my dear brother and sister in the Lord, could be causing others to NOT believe that Jesus died for THEM by your FALSE teaching that Jesus died ONLY for the ELECT. I want you to think about and consider very closely about those who HEAR the teaching of Calvinism and HOW FAITH comes by HEARING that they may not be one of the LUCKY ONES who were chosen from before the foundation of the world to be SAVED. Stop and THINK how YOU who teach these FALSE doctrines are BRINGING to THEM, those that Jesus died for but who have not yet come to the knowledge of the truth, that YOU are bringing to THEM DAMNATION and DESTRUCTION, who HEAR your teachings that THEY may NOT be one of the ELECT. Now I want YOU, my dear brother or sister who has been DECEIVED by Calvinism, to consider the ODDS, seeing that broad is the way that leads to destruction Thinks about those who are hearing the ODDS of them being one of the lucky ones that were supposedly chosen from before the foundation of the world to be saved. HOW could they ever BELIEVE that God LOVE them? They simply can NOT! So NO! Many thousands of times NO! My dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, YOU who teach CALVINISM and REFORMED THEOLOGY are bringing in DAMNABLE and DESTRUCTION HERESIES by teaching that Jesus did NOT PURCHASE the salvation of ALL of mankind. Your FALSE gospel of Calvinism and Reformed Theology does NOT bring any HOPE to those who HEAR it, because there is no ABSOLUTE PROMISE of ASSURANCE that Jesus BOUGHT THEM that HEAR your FALSE teaching. You can ONLY LIE to them that Jesus died for them because you yourself do not KNOW that Jesus died for ALL of mankind. I want you to read 2 Peter 2:1,2 again from the Basic English Bible translation.
2 Peter 2:1,2 from the Basic English Translation.
“But there were false prophets among the people, as there will be FALSE teachers among you, who will secretly put forward WRONG teachings for YOUR destruction, even turning (Those of YOU who HEAR their FALSE teachings) away from the Lord who gave himself for them; (Speaking of ALL of mankind, but who are HEARING this FALSE teaching that the Lord did NOT die for the sins of everyone, but ONLY for a few LUCKY ONES) whose destruction will come quickly, and THEY THEMSELVES will be the CAUSE of it. 2. And a GREAT NUMBER will go with them in their EVIL ways, through whom (Or through these FALSE teachers who bring in more false teachers to teach as they do that Jesus did NOT give himself or die for ALL men, but rather ONLY for certain select individuals) the TRUE WAY will have a BAD NAME.”
The TRUE WAY is that Jesus gave himself for ALL of mankind. All I am saying my dear brothers and sisters, in our Lord Jesus, is that do YOU want to be the CAUSE of the DAMNATION and DESTRUCTION of those YOU are teaching FALSELY that Jesus did NOT necessarily die for THEM, because they may not necessarily be ONE of the ELECT? Sure you may SAY to them that Jesus died for them, but YOU YOURSELF do NOT BELIEVE, because you do not KNOW for sure. In fact, you dogmatically teach that Jesus did NOT die for ALL of mankind, but rather, Jesus died ONLY for the ELECT. Therefore YOU, who believe and DENY that Jesus did NOT die for ALL of mankind, can ONLY speak LIES to the world, JUST TELLING them that Jesus died for THEM because you yourself do not KNOW with absolute certainty that Jesus died for each and every one of THEM, the same as Jesus died for each and every one of us who heard the gospel and BELIEVE. Therefore YOU, who teach these five points of Calvinism and Reformed Theology, can NOT add FAITH to your prayer for them, because you yourself do not KNOW that it is God's WILL and DESIRE to SAVE that particular individual.
But I KNOW! I am ABSOLUTELY SURE that Jesus died for THEM as well as he died for ME!
The TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus did IN FACT die for ALL of mankind and the PROMISE of salvation IS being GIVEN to ALL who BELIEVE this word of TRUTH, the GOSPEL of YOUR SALVATION speaking of every one of THEM as well as each and every one of us who have already heard the gospel and BELIEVE. I do not speak this truth to offend you, but I myself must not keep silent. I must say to all my readers that in truth if I was not saved already, and I heard this teaching of Calvinism and Reformed Theology BEFORE I heard the TRUE WAY of the gospel, then I myself would WONDER and have DOUBT as to whether I am TRULY saved, even if I could muster up enough faith to believe in the first place. I mean, ACCORDING to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, HOW can YOU trust and believe that YOU are ONE of the ELECT because according to your own teaching nobody KNOWS for SURE who the elect truly is, and ONLY God knows for sure. My question is to YOU, who are holding fast to what you were TAUGHT through Calvinism and Reformed Theology, are YOU absolutely SURE that YOU are TRULY ONE of the ELECT? How do you KNOW, since you do NOT believe that Jesus died for ALL of mankind? Are you SURE that he died for YOU specifically? You may THINK that Jesus died for YOU, but are you absolutely SURE you are ONE of the ELECT because to YOU Jesus died ONLY for the ELECT? According to Calvinism and Reformed Theology Christians, YOU can NOT possibly KNOW for SURE But according to the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ, ALL can KNOW for SURE that Jesus died for YOU, no matter who you are or what you have done. Jesus died for not ONLY my sins but ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. I want YOU, my dear reader, to know that you CAN KNOW without a doubt that you ARE ONE of the ELECT, if so be that YOU truly BELIEVE that Jesus died for ALL of mankind as the word of TRUTH, the GOSPEL of your salvation, that PLAINLY and CLEARLY teaches us that Jesus died for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD, because IF so be that you BELIEVE this TRUTH, then you will KNOW without a doubt that Jesus died for YOU! From the very beginning of the GOSPEL, we are taught by the word of TRUTH that Jesus died for the sins of the WORLD. Please read the GOSPEL of John chapter 1 and verse 29 which CLEARLY teaches us that Jesus, the LAMB of God, was slain for the WORLD.
John 1:29.
“The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, which TAKES AWAY the SIN of the WORLD.”
Yes, I know and fully realize that those, who teach the FALSE doctrine of LIMITED atonement, teach that the word “WORLD” does NOT mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the world, but rather means ONLY the ELECT who are scattered throughout the whole WORLD. But I also know that there is absolutely no reason to go through the entire New Testament and try and CHANGE the clear, plain, and simple words like ALL MEN, the WHOLE WORLD, WHOSOEVER, and EVERY MAN to mean only a few specifically selected individuals that were supposedly chosen from before the foundation of the world to be saved. Yes, Calvinism and Reformed Theology proudly BOAST the CLAIM that Jesus did NOT die for the sins of the WHOLE world by CHANGING these simple to understand words to mean that Jesus died for ONLY the ELECT. But what does the word of TRUTH teach us? You see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord it is NOT so much the WHO that was SUPPOSEDLY chosen from BEFORE the foundation of the world, but RATHER the WHAT or more precisely the MEANS BY WHICH Almighty God CHOSE to redeem the WORLD back to himself that Almighty God CHOSE from BEFORE the foundation of the world. And that MEANS of SALVATION that God CHOSE from BEFORE the foundation of the world is the LAMB that was slain in the mind of Almighty God from before the foundation of the world. I want you to PRAYERFULLY and CAREFULLY read Ephesians 1:3-13 over and over until you SEE that WHAT Almighty God CHOSE before the foundation of the world was the salvation of both the Jew and the Gentile be IN his Son Jesus.
Ephesians 1:2-13.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN Christ: 4. ACCORDING, as He (Almighty God) has CHOSEN 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 UNTO the adoption of children BY Jesus Christ to himself, ACCORDING to the good pleasure of his will, (Or according to his desire or intent) 6. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us (Speaking of those who made the choice to BELIEVE the gospel God has now made) accepted IN the beloved. 7. IN whom we (speaking of ONLY those who BELIEVE IN Jesus) have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, ACCORDING to the riches of his grace; (Speaking of that because of the GRACE of Almighty God who GAVE us ALL the measure of FAITH or the ABILITY to BELIEVE the grace the BRINGS salvation teaching us to deny ungodliness in this present world); 8. Wherein he has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; (HOW did the GRACE of Almighty God abound toward us?) 9. Having made KNOWN unto us the MYSTERY of his WILL, (Which He kept secret from the foundation of the world that His Son Jesus his CHOSEN one would be slain or crucified for the sins of the WORLD so that there would be NO BOASTING because salvation would come only THROUGH the atonement that his Son Jesus made for all of mankind) ACCORDING to his good pleasure which he has PURPOSED in himself: 10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things IN Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; EVEN IN him: 11. IN whom also we (Speaking of ONLY those who made the CHOICE to BELIEVE the GOSPEL) have obtained an inheritance, being predestined ACCORDING to the PURPOSE of him who works all things after the counsel of his own WILL: 12. THAT (Or so THAT) we (Speaking of ONLY those who made the CHOICE to BELIEVE) should be to the praise of his glory, who first TRUSTED (Speaking of those who before you made the CHOICE to BELIEVE) IN Christ. 13. IN whom you ALSO TRUSTED, (Speaking of those who made the CHOICE to BELIEVE IN Christ Jesus) AFTER that you HEARD the WORD of TRUTH, the GOSPEL of your salvation: IN whom ALSO AFTER that you BELIEVED, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Or AFTER you BELIEVE IN Jesus Christ you were given the earnest of the Holy Spirit to DWELL IN you so that you will be sealed or marked as a true born again believer IN Jesus Christ) 14. Which is the EARNEST (In other words, this sealing of the Holy Spirit is the down payment or PROOF of PURCHASE, so to speak, to let us KNOW without a doubt that we are TRULY saved for it is this SEALING of the Holy Spirit within us that bears WITNESS with our spirit that we are the sons of God and have the promise of eternal life ABIDING in us) of our inheritance UNTIL the redemption of the PURCHASED possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
You see, the full inheritance of our redemption does not take place until the second coming of Jesus. This is WHY we as believers are WARNED over and over throughout the word of God to take heed and GUARD ourselves against sin. We will cover this subject under the letter “P”, which is the PERSEVERANCE of the SAINTS. But for now, let us move on to the next letter of the acronym T.U.L.I.P. which is the “I” that stands for the doctrine of IRRESISTIBLE GRACE. To read part 7 of this study on examining Calvinism in the light of the whole word of God please click on the study “CALVINISM-PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS! PART 7” Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT |
|
|