Scripture Meditation

Exodus 14:16-18 (ESV)  Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

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God will receive glory for all those whom He has saved, and He will receive glory for all those who will be thrown into the lake of fire

Comfortable Limited Atonement? (part 4)

So far, we've looked at a number of areas that are directly affected by the doctrine of limited atonement (1, 2, 3)

With all this being said, the question still remains... how can we find comfort in such a doctrine as limited atonement?

The answer, simply put, is this - if we love God, then we will find comfort in the doctrine because the doctrine is a reflection of who God is.

And to desire something different is to desire a god in ones own image. A god that is not the true and living God. A god that behaves how we want it to behave.

That is not the God testified about in the scriptures.

God has the freedom to do with His creation what He wants to do with it.

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Romans 9:21 (ESV)  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

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God has no obligation to treat everyone the same, and not doing so doesn't make God unjust.

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Romans 9:14-15 (ESV)  What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

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The limiting of the scope of the atonement was necessary to keep God's righteous justice in tact - so that He's not guilty of any wrong doing.

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Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

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The focus of the limiting atonement should not be upon those who are not elected to salvation.

In their case, God hasn't broken a promise to them, or acted unjust towards them.

Instead, we should look at those who have been elected.

They have been loved with a great love.

God has looked upon them with a kindness that they didnt deserve at all.

God has arranged it that they will enjoy Him forever, as children in His own household.

God has even promised that He will never leave or forsake them, but mold them into the image of Christ.

Our comfort is found in the fact that God freely chose us when He didn't have to.

1 John 4:10 (ESV)  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

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It's this knowledge about what God has done for and to us, and who God is, that should cause us to not only be comforted by the doctrine of Limited Atonement, but it should cause us to look at God as a merciful, gracious, and loving God.

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I hope that the Lord God has blessed you through this "brief" look at limited atonement.

Amen

Comfortable Limited Atonement? (part 3)

In the last two posts, we looked at two aspects of what the doctrine of limited atonement affects as it pertains directly to God.

In the first article, we looked at God's complete freedom (sovereignty) to not only limit the scope of the atonement to only be applied to those whom He chooses... but also the freedom to limit any and all blessings in any fashion He chooses.

We see Him exercise this right as the creator of all things, repeatedly throughout scripture.

The second article looked at God's perfection in light of God's freedom.

The third thing we need to focus on, are the theological implications of what a rejection or acceptance of limited atonement, as Christ describes it, means.

Firstly, there is the obvious impact of God's word failing.

Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)  For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

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Isaiah 46:8-11 (ESV)  Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

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Numbers 23:19 (ESV)  God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

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The word of God is so sure, that those who falsify it are to be put to death. How does one know this crime has been committed? When what is said doesn't come to pass.

As scripture tells us...

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (ESV)  But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’

And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously.

You need not be afraid of him.

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The theological issue here is that Christ clearly teaches it's God who chooses.

The implication of God not being the one that limits the atonement, means that Jesus is a false teacher.

This is because He says at one point...

John 6:37-39 (ESV)  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

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He also says, in another point...

John 10:25-29 (ESV)  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

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So then, since Christ actually teaches it, we must realise that He stakes His very deity on it.

So, we should find comfort in this doctrine, for one, because it makes God... God.

The fact that the doctrine is taught by Christ Himself, and the word of God never fails, means that this is a prerogative of God.

For it to not be so, God would no longer be God.

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Another theological implication of this doctrine, which i believe is more common to this discussion, is the issue of God's justice.

This is usually referred to as double jeopardy.

Double jeopardy is a legal term which is defined as the following-

the act of causing a person to be put on trial two times for the same crime (source: Merriam-Webster)

Do we see this happening in any view of limited atonement? No.

So the issue that relates to the justice of God is not one of double jeopardy.

Instead, the legal term would be, a misscarriage of justice. This is defined as-

an error made in a court of law that results in an innocent person being punished or a guilty person being free (source: Merriam-Webster)

Some may see this and think that the work of atonement, as a whole, should be considered a misscarriage of justice.

Many unbelievers actually believe this.

However, that isn't the case.

The issue that needs to be brought to the forefront is the voluntary offering of Christ to pay the debt, and the acceptance of that proposal by the Father.

This is why salvation is achieved by the substitutionary sacrifice provided by Christ.

He voluntarily became the substitute, and received the wrath of God that we would have had to receive.

A miscarriage of justice would occur when the innocent involuntarily pays the price of the guilty.

To right this miscarriage, the innocent would be set free, and the guilty would face what they should've faced.

Bringing this thought into our context of the atonement now...  if it is true that the atonement is limited in power, instead of scope, God would knowingly be carrying out a misscarriage of justice.

Why would this be so?

If Christ is dying only for those whom the Father has elected and gave to Him, and all of those people are saved, then no miscarriage takes place.

Why? Because all those whom Christ volunteered to take the punishment for, receive the benefit of His actions, and God's justice is satisfied by Christ's sacrifice.

The other view, however, presents us with the problem of the miscarriage of justice.

If the atonement is limited in power, instead of scope... that is to say, if Christ actually took the punishment for all people in the world, and any one of them doesn't receive the benefit of His actions, then the miscarriage has taken place.

How so?

You have to remember that God is omniscient. He is all knowing.

Scripture tells us the following...

Matthew 25:33-34 (ESV)  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

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Ephesians 1:3-4 (ESV)  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

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In other words, God knew who were going to be His before they were even born.

Even if one believes that God has to look forward in time to get the information about who would choose Him (which is an unbiblical and heretical position), they must still affirm that God, at that point, knows who will be His when all is said and done before it plays out in time.

Therefore, when Christ received the punishment from the Father on behalf of everybody in the world, the Father knew which people would go to hell anyway.

Meaning, that Christ receiving the punishment on their behalf is a complete waste, as they would never receive the benefit of His actions.

So, at that point, God willingly commits a miscarriage of justice, and will have to rectify this miscarriage by pouring out His wrath on these people at the last day.

So, when scripture states...

Deuteronomy 32:4 (ESV)  The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

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This becomes false. All of God's ways couldn't be justice. God couldnt be just and upright if in the end He is punishing the Son for no reason, which is exactly what takes place when the atonement is limited in power, rather than scope.

The sacrificial atonement of Christ is an issue of justice in the sight of God.

The soul that sins, must die.

They've incurred an infinite debt by rebelling against the infinite God.

If God is just, He cant just let these things slide. He can't simply sweep them under the carpet.

But, the people are not able to pay for their sins, because they arent able to pay an infinite debt.

So, God becomes a man, and takes upon Himself the punishment that we deserve.

Not only that, He then turns around and gives those people His righteousness.

Anybody who doesnt put their faith in Christ, will bear their own punishment on judgement day... but God knows who these people would be from day one.

It's all well and good to say that God is giving them a chance, and pleading with them, but the problem is that not only does God already know what the answer is, but Christ was punished for no reason, when it comes to those people whom God already knows will face the second death.

When all is said and done, in relation to those people whom the Father already knew will face His wrath, punishing the innocent Christ is all in vain.

Just as it is written...

1 Corinthians 15:14 (ESV)  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

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And again where scripture says...

1 Corinthians 15:10 (ESV)  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

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If indeed Christ has been punished for the sins of these people, and based on that, God grants them grace to believe, yet He leaves it up to them...

... the very fact that God already knows before hand who will and who will not believe, means that Christ suffered punishment in vain and that grace is also in vain.

The innocent ends up being punished for no reason, and the miscarriage of justice, having to be rectified in the end.

This, actually makes God a sinner.

How? God's law says that there should be no injustice in court.

Leviticus 19:15a (ESV)  You shall do no injustice in court.

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Remember, the sacrificial atonement of Christ is an issue of satisfying the justice of God.

God becomes guilty, a breaker of His own law.

Exodus 23:7 (ESV)  Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

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The Father becomes guilty of charging Christ falsely and killing the innocent and righteous.

Why? Remember, God already knows before hand that these people will be in hell. God already knows that these people will have to answer for their sins when the last day comes.

Since that is the case, the Father is not punishing Christ for their sins because He already knows that they will receive the punishment themselves.

If the cup of wrath that these people filled up, was actually poured out on Christ, then there is no wrath to pour out on them at judgement day.

There would be no sins for the Father to actually judge.

But we know that these people will have to answer to God for their sins. So their sins haven't been taken care of by Christ on the cross.

So, if it is true that the Father punishes Christ on behalf of these people, who He knows will have to answer for their sins anyway, then Christ is being punished unjustly - it is a miscarriage of justice.

Let's see if i can explain it a different way.

Let's say there were 10 people who owed large debts to the government.

The debts are so large that they are unable to pay it.

They have a window of time that they must pay the debt, else they will be put in prison. Once they are in prison, no further payments can be paid towards the debt.

A rich man hears about the plight of these 10 people, decides to pay their debt, and starts to make preparations to that end.

The rich man starts to make the payments, but the time has come to an end for 3 of the people before he was able to make payment. So they are now in prison.

The rich man is aware that they are in prison and no payment made will affect their debt.

The state, however, knows that the rich man intended to pay the debts for these 3 people as well, and requests the payments to still be made.

The state, the rich man, and the debtors, know that any payment made now will not matter as it will not go towards the debt.

The rich man is made to make the 3 payments anyway.

Is this not a miscarriage of justice?

The state has taken money from the rich man, knowing fully well that the money will never be paid to what the rich man wanted to pay.

The rich man is now out that money, suffering an unintended loss - as his purpose was to help the 3 debtors, but they will not receive the help even after the payment has been made.

The only one who benefits, is the state, and that is illegal.

It is known as misappropriation of funds.

Although this scenario isnt exactly what is taking place in the atonement, im hoping that the similarities will stick out to enable us to see the issue at hand.

If indeed the atonement is limited by power, rather than scope, then the Father becomes complicit in an injustice towards His own Son.

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The third theological implication in regards to this issue, is the omniscience of God.

There are many who are able to identify the problem with limiting the power of the atonement while at the same time maintaining the biblical truth that God is all-knowing.

Instead of limiting the scope, they decide to remove God's omniscience.

By doing this, they attempt to reconcile their theology with the premise that Christ did pay for everyone's sins and no miscarriage of justice took place.

If God is not all knowing, then this would supposedly mean that God is not complicit in an injustice.

This, of course, doesn't follow.

Even if the Father didn't know of the implications of His actions towards the Son on behalf of everyone in the world, the result is still the same.

Something wrong has still occurred, regardless of whether it was known beforehand or not.

However, by this point, we've already ceased discussing the God of the scriptures.

The God described in the bible is all-knowing.

As a matter of fact, God takes this challenge to His knowledge quite personal.

As scripture tells us here...

Isaiah 41:21-23 (ESV)  Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.

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Isaiah 44:6-8 (ESV)  Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

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The scripture shows that as far as God is concerned, if you can't declare the future, you can't be God.

It's a characteristic of His deity.

So, it's not possible to remove God's knowledge and yet still claim we are talking about the God of the scriptures.

This is why many say that to be a consistent arminian, meaning that they limit the atonement by power, one is forced to be an open theist (one who denies that God is all-knowing.

Meditate on these things and join us next time as wrap up our brief look at the doctrine of limited atonement.

Comfortable Limited Atonement? (part 2)

In the previous article, i began looking at the doctrine known as Limited Atonement, in order to get an understanding as to how this doctrine can help us to find comfort in a God who would intentionally limit the scope of His atonement, i.e. picking and choosing whom He will show love to by dying in th3 cross for their sins.

The first thing we looked at is the freedom that God has to treat one human different than another.

This reality is shown all throughout the scriptures.

The second thing we need to look at, is the fact that since the scripture teaches that this is indeed who God is, that God is not going to change Himself in order to make our sensibilities, which are corrupted by sin, at ease.

God is the perfect and holy creator and sustainer of all things.

He is who He is, and never needs to change because of His inherent perfection.

It is natural that there will be things about God that we don't understand, or perhaps don't like.

The reason for this is because we are sinners, while God is Holy.

We will not always see eye to eye with God, and in those instances, we should confess our sin of defiance before our creator and supreme authority.

As it is written...

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

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It's one thing for the unregenerate to say that God should change His standard, or that His judgements aren't righteous in some way, but the believer is not able to say such a thing.

If it were true, then we are not worshipping a perfect God.

It makes perfect sense for a human to not agree with everything that God does.

For one, we are finite whereas God is infinite.

Furthermore, we hindered by the sin nature that dwells within us.

So there will be times when we think there is a better action that God should take, as opposed to what He is actually doing.

We may even find ourselves repeating the words of abraham.

Genesis 18:23-25 (ESV)  Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city.

Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked!

Far be that from you!

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

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Look at abraham's concern. It's for the righteousness of God.

From abraham's perspective, if God kills the righteous during the judgement of the wicked, that isn't righteousness.

Is he correct?

No.

But from his limited point of view, he believes that he is correct.

The believer can't make such claims. We should always concede to God's judgements and His ways.

Why?

Because we confess that God is perfect in His attributes.

He has perfect wisdom, holiness, and righteousness.

He is not simply the most high in the sense that in all of creation He is above all but there is still a place above even that, that He hasn't attained.

That is not perfection. That is to be almost perfect/near perfection.

No. We state that God is the very example of perfection.

Since that is the case, we must confess, that even though we may not understand, every action that God takes is perfectly just and righteous.

What we should do, is to make sure our understanding of an action we believe God is taking is actually consistent with His character as revealed in scripture.

God limiting the scope of the atonement is very consistent with the way He deals with man.

So the claim that its wrong for Him to limit the atonement in this way or that God would be "better" somehow if He limited the power of the atonement instead, means that God is certainly not perfect in His attributes.

Meditate on that for awhile.

Join us next time as we look at another point in relation to the doctrine of limited atonement.

Comfortable Limited Atonement? (part 1)

I was in the Reformed Pub recently, as one does, and was in a discussion regarding the doctrine of Limited Atonement.

The conversation was specifically centered around whether it's possible to find security or comfort in a God who uses the reformed view of limiting the atonement.

For those who are unaware, there are two views of limited atonement.

1. The non-reformed view is that the atonement is limited in its power.

That is to say, God has decided to give the authority for salvation to man.

Ultimately, God wants to save everyone, tries to save everyone, but can't save everyone, because He purposefully limits the power of the atonement.

2. The reformed view is that the atonement is limited by scope.

That is to say, God has decided to not save everyone.

Ultimately, God decides who He wants to save, and is successful in doing so. Those whom He chooses not to save, He leaves in order that they will, effectively, send themselves to hell.

He purposefully limits the scope of the atonement.

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Often, you will hear people say that they can't serve, love, or believe in a God that would not attempt to save all people.

Despite this being the exact thing shown in scripture from Genesis to Revelation, the fact that they would even utter such words, is at times, completely mind-boggling.

The question will sometimes be put forth, how can any love, serve, and believe in such a God.

How does believing this about God give us any sort of comfort?

Well, let's take a brief look at this doctrine and how it should cause us to find comfort in God.

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The first thing we need to briefly address is that God limiting the scope of not only His salvation, but even His other more general blessings to humanity, is something clearly taught throughout scripture.

God is not obligated by the fact of being our creator to treat everyone the same.

He is free to choose what we wants to do to and for the creatures He makes.

God directly states this exact thing.

Exodus 33:19 (ESV)  And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

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God even puts this very idea into practice

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (ESV)  When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction.

You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them.

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Joshua even reiterates this sentiment...

Joshua 11:20 (ESV)  For it was the Lord's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

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The Holy Spirit inspired the apostle paul to pick up on this, in regards to God being free to differentiate between two people as He sees fit and treat them differenyly based solely upon His own will and so he penned the following...

Romans 9:6-18 (ESV)  But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—
she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!

For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

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So, we see that God, from the beginning, has always chosen some over others by His own will, for His own purpose.

So this God, who limits the scope of His blessings, both eternal and temporal, is the God who is described all throughout scripture.

Let that sink in.

The doctrine of limited atonement points us to who God is, and the inherent characteristic of His nature - the freedom to choose.

So, even if we didn't recognise it all throughout the scriptures, the doctrine brings it to the forefront of our minds.

Join us next time as we continue our brief look at why and how limitied atonement should give us comfort in the God of our salvation.

Amen

Because Christ Says So (part 5)

Today, we wrap up our brief series in the doctrines of grace.

So far, we've seen Christ teach...

Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistable Grace

The last point we want to see from Christ, is also one that brings controversy.

P - Perseverance of the Saints

This doctrine states that all those who have received salvation, will not lose it, but will be kept secure by the power of God.

Again, i'm not endeavoring to give a proper refutation of those who disagree with this position.

The goal here is to simply provide evidence that Christ taught this doctrine.

1. John 6:37-40 (ESV)  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

- Here we see one of the strongest quotes for this position.

Jesus teaches that the will of the Father is that He will not lose anyone whom the Father gives Him.

Not only that, but this is actually what Jesus came down from heaven to do. To secure those whom He was given.

2. John 6:48-51 (ESV)  I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

- Jesus tells that there is a finality to eating His bread. Those who eat it will not die.

3. John 6:53-58 (ESV)  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

- Here, we see Christ reiterating His previous point.

4. John 10:27-30 (ESV)  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
I and the Father are one.”

- Jesus teaches that He only gives eternal life to His sheep, whom He knows, and they know Him.

They will never perish.

Not only is no one able to take His sheep out of His hands, but they aren't able to take them out of the Father's hands either.

They both share the work of keeping the sheep secure.

5. John 15:16 (ESV)  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

- Here we see Christ teaching that we don't choose Him, but the other way around.

Not only does He choose but He appoints us to bear fruit.

He says this on the back of saying that all those in Him who don't bear fruit will be, naturally, thrown in the fire.

Yet He appoints those whom He chooses to bear fruit and abide in Him.

It's His authority that keeps them abiding in Him.

6. Matthew 13:25, 37-41 (ESV)  but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

- Here, we see the explanation of the parable about the wheat and tares (weeds).

The one who places the wheat there is God. The number of wheat doesn't increase or decrease, as God knows what He sowed.

On judgement day, the tares (weeds) are gathered together and cast in the fire. Leaving the wheat.

7. John 14:1-4 (ESV)  Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

And you know the way to where I am going.”

- Here, we see Christ making a promise to His disciples, and by extension, all of us that belong to Him.

In the Father's house, there are many rooms (mansions in some translations).

Christ goes to prepare a place for us. And all those whom He prepares a place for, He will come back and to receive them, and take them to that place He's prepared.

Clearly, Jesus believes their salvation is secure.

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We've now looked at a few passages for each point of the doctrines of grace.

Jesus clearly teaches these things outright, and even when not speaking about them directly, you can clearly see these theological presuppositions present.

For example, He clearly believes the salvation of the thief on the cross is secure for Him to be able to promise that he will be in paradise that day.

Even though Christ will die before the thief does.

Every now and then, Christ pulls back the veil to give us the spiritual understanding of what we're seeing in the natural.

It's that spiritual explanation from Christ that clearly teaches these doctrines.

And since its Christ teaching these things, they must be true.

So we ought to believe them and seek to understand them to the best of our ability.

We ought to teach them to others as well. As the Holy Spirit saw fit to include these things that Christ spoke, in the scriptures so that we would be taught, reproved, corrected, and trained in righteousness, so that we may be equipped for every good work.

Amen

Because Christ Says So (part 4)

Yesterday, we saw what Christ taught in regards to the doctrine known as limited atonement.

Today, we'll be taking a look at what is commonly known as irresistable grace.

I - Irresistable Grace

This doctrine often gets flack, as the scriptures does seem to show people resisting God's grace.

So since that's the case, how can God's grace be called irresistable?

The doctrine is stated in this way - all those whom God has elected to salvation, will be saved.

Although this doctrine is mainly in the realm of soteriology, it is undergirded by a number of important doctrines that have to do with the very nature of God.

Let's see what Christ taught in regards to this doctrine.

1. John 6:37 (ESV)  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

- Here, we see Jesus making a statement concerning the hidden things of God.

Although what's said here also touches on limited atonement, we should also note its application to irresistable grace.

All those that the Father gives to Christ, will come to Him.

For Jesus to make this statement, there can't be any case when a person given to Him, will not come to Him.

If that was the case, then this statement is false - and Jesus becomes a false teacher by default.

2. John 10:1-5 (ESV)  Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

- Here, we see Christ actually teaching that the calling of His sheep - or in other words, the drawing of the Father to Christ, is effectual.

Why? Because these are His people. His sheep.

Although His sheep is intermingled with others, when the owner of the sheep calls them, the recognise His voice and come.

3. John 10:16 (ESV)  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

- Jesus repeats the sentiment, but applies it to a group of other sheep that He has.

He's going to bring both flocks together.

How does He think this will happen? His theology is that they will listen to His voice.

So His call is effectual.

4. John 6:43-45 (ESV)  Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’

Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—"

- Here, we see Jesus teaching the effectiveness of the call.

Everyone who is drawn by the Father, will come to Christ without fail.

Jesus' theology even causes Him to interpret old testament scripture to reflect this truth.

While it is true that the scriptures does show the resisting of God's grace, Christ clearly identifies two different aspects of the gospel call.

This is summed up in the last statement made by Christ at the end of the parable of the wedding feast...

Matthew 22:14 (ESV)  For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This is the doctrine of the effectual call of salvation, also known as, irresistable grace... according to Christ