SPELLING EDITED Cc-20. DOES 2 THESSALONIANS 2:13 TEACH CALVINISM? Does Calvinism or Reformed Theology teach a DIFFERENT gospel from what the Apostles of Jesus teach? The Bible warns us to not teach any other gospel than what the Apostles of Jesus teach us in the New Testament under the New Covenant. Please read 2 Corinthians 11:3,4. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is IN Christ. (Paul is worried or concerned that some Christians are being deceived to be drawn away from the TRUE Jesus and the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ that the Bible ITSELF teaches IN SIMPLICITY.) 4. For if he that comes preaching ANOTHER Jesus, whom WE have NOT preached, (Here is the KEY to knowing the TRUE Jesus that the Bible ITSELF teaches us IN SIMPLICITY. And this key is that any Jesus that is being taught today that does not AGREE 100% with the Jesus that the Apostles of Jesus taught in the New Testament of the Bible, then that Jesus is ANOTHER Jesus) or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or ANOTHER GOSPEL, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him.” Now, when some Christians read this verse, they INTERPRET this verse to mean that if anyone comes along and teaches anything different from what their own church DENOMINATION teaches, then those Christians are teaching ANOTHER Jesus and ANOTHER GOSPEL. But that is NOT what this verse is saying. Paul is specifically defining another Jesus as being any other Jesus than what the APOSTLES of Jesus themselves taught. And Paul is specifically defining ANOTHER GOSPEL as being any teaching that the Apostles themselves did NOT teach. So then, does the Jesus and the GOSPEL that your church denomination teaches AGREE 100% with the Jesus and the GOSPEL that the Apostles of Jesus taught? And if your church doctrine, concerning Jesus, or the Gospel of Jesus, does not agree with the Jesus and his disciples taught in the New Testament of the Bible, then they are teaching ANOTHER Jesus and a FALSE GOSPEL. Now let us read 2 Thessalonians 2:13 the way that Reformed Theology Christians INTERPRET this verse. 2 Thessalonians 2:13. “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord because God has FROM the BEGINNING CHOSEN YOU to SALVATION through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:” Reformed Theology Christians INTERPRET this verse to mean that God ONLY chose BEFORE the world began certain select individual people to be saved. And therefore, according to Calvinism, if God did NOT choose YOU before the foundation of the world to be saved then there is absolutely nothing that you can do to be saved because you were NOT CHOSEN to salvation FROM the BEGINNING. What Calvinist or Reformed Theology Christians fail to see is that what God chose from the beginning was the WAY of HOW mankind would be saved. Let us read this verse again with the emphasis on other words. 2 Thessalonians 2:13. “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation THROUGH sanctification of the Spirit and BELIEF of the TRUTH:” Let us read this verse left in its CONTEXT to learn its TRUE meaning. Please read 2 Thessalonians 2:8-15. “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (The context involves the judgment of the wicked at the coming of Jesus) 9. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; BECAUSE they RECEIVED NOT the love of the truth, THAT (Or so that, or in order that) they might be SAVED. (In other words, God did NOT CHOOSE for certain select individual people to be lost from before the world began. Rather God chose salvation to be IN his Son and ALSO chose that WHOSOEVER of any person who makes their OWN CHOICE to receive the truth might be saved. So then, it is BECAUSE these antichrist people in the last days will reject the TRUTH so that they might be saved. And thus, God must honor his word to destroy the wicked) 11. And FOR THIS CAUSE (Of THEM refusing to receive the TRUTH of the gospel of Jesus Christ) God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (Keep in mind that this strong delusion to continue to believe the lie that they have already made their own choice to believe is speaking of the exact moment in time when the RAPTURE of the faithful believers takes place. Remember Revelation 22:11,12 “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Time will be frozen for a twinkling of an eye and whatever a person believes at that precise moment in time will determine if they are found faithful to be raptured or not. And thus the wicked will remain wicked at that moment of the rapture of the church) 12. That they all might be damned who believed NOT the TRUTH but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13. BUT we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14. Whereunto he CALLED you BY our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Because you have believed the TRUTH to sanctify and purify yourselves from all unrighteousness) 15. THEREFORE, brethren, STAND FAST, and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle (To continue to PURIFY yourselves from all unrighteousness even as our Lord is pure).” Jesus prayed to the Father to sanctify us through the TRUTH. John 17:15-20. “I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. 16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17. Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth. 18. As you have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19. And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” So then, it is our job to believe and OBEY the word of TRUTH to sanctify ourselves by the washing of the water of the word of truth THROUGH the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Please read 1 Thessalonians 4:3,4. “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication: 4. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor;” John wrote to us teaching us that if we truly believe that Jesus is coming back then we will PURIFY ourselves EVEN AS Jesus is pure. Please read 1 John 3:2-6. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. 4. Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6. Whosoever abides in him sins not: whosoever sins has not seen him, neither known him.” The Bible teaches us that we are to OBEY the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. Please read Colossians 1:3-10. “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5. For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6. Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: 7. As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8. Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. 9. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10. THAT (Or so that) you might WALK WORTHY of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good WORK, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a WALK of testing our faith after we first believed. And this WALK of being SANCTIFIED by the word of truth day by day is what shall judge whether or not we are found to be those GOOD and FAITHFUL servants unto the end on the day of judgment. So again, it is the WHAT God has chosen before the foundation of the world rather than the WHO God has chosen before the foundation of the world. God has chosen that salvation to be IN his SON Jesus before God ever created mankind. The Bible teaches us that God’s LAMB was SLAIN from before the foundation of the world. Now, God used lambs without spot or blemish to be offered up year after year as a figure of his TRUE Lamb who would offer himself up once and for all time as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. So what God chose before the foundation of the world was the shedding of the blood of an INNOCENT man to redeem mankind back to himself. But that was not ALL that God chose. God ALSO chose to save ONLY those of mankind who BELIEVE in his so great a salvation of an INNOCENT man laying down his own life of his own free will to suffer and die the cruel death on the cross to provide salvation for them to be delivered from the bondage of sin. And MOREOVER, God also chose that the salvation of mankind to be BY the foolishness of PREACHING this gospel message of God’s Messiah dying on the cross for the sins of the world. Please read 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.” So then, God CHOOSES ONLY those of us who BELIEVE the true gospel of Jesus Christ UNTO salvation THROUGH SANCTIFICATION by the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us into all truth. And IF we WALK AFTER the leading of the Holy Spirit to OBEY the Holy Spirit unto the end, then we shall be found WORTHY to eat of the tree of life at the coming of Jesus. Please read Revelation 22:14,15. “Blessed are THEY that DO his commandments, THAT (Or so THAT or in order that) THEY (Speaking of ONLY those of us who are found to be those good and faithful servants unto the end) may have RIGHT to the tree of life, and may ENTER in through the gates into the city. 15. For (Or BECAUSE) without (or without the city and WITHOUT eternal life in the world to come) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and WHOSOEVER loves and makes a lie.” Now I am not saying that those who are being deceived to teach ANOTHER Jesus that did not die for the sins of everyone in the whole world is are liars. And I am not saying that those who are being deceived to teach ANOTHER gospel or a DIFFERENT gospel that what the Apostles of Jesus taught in SIMPLICITY are liars. All I am saying is for my readers and seekers of the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God is to search the word of truth for yourselves to make absolutely sure that what you believe and teach agree 100% with the WHOLE of God’s word. Always keep in mind that any verse, when taken OUT of its CONTEXT, may SEEM to say something that it is NOT TRULY saying in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 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 The NEXT VERSE we will study is Proverbs 16:4 in the study called “DOES PROVERBS 16:4 TEACH CALVINISM?” |
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