Hasn't grace been there from the beginning?
Abraham ?
others?
For all ?
Matthew 23:39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say,
`Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" [Psalm 118:26]
Barukh haba b'Shem Adonai
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord
Y'shua HaMashiach
chuck <truth@Y'shuaHaMashiach>
Abraham ?
others?
For all ?
The problem with Calvinism is its attempt to reconcile and systematize that which the Bible does not reconcile. Though there is value in systematic theology, there is also a danger. We must be careful simply to believe the Bible as it stands. I believe Acts 13:48, which says "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed," and I also believe Acts 13:46, which says the unbelieving Jews had rejected God's salvation and had judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life. I don't try to develop a theological system that will somehow make perfect sense of it all.
The teaching of Five-Point Calvinism is that God has determined and decreed that some are to be saved without any conditions to be met on their part. This is called Unconditional Election and is the choosing of some to salvation in Christ, while at the same time leaving the rest in their lost condition by not choosing them. This election is not based on God’s foreknowing that certain would believe, but is based on His sovereign will to elect certain ones. Those who are not chosen to be part of the Elect of God can in no way enter into that company. In line with this teaching the statement is made that God does not love all men, but only those whom he has chosen to be saved. The Scriptures are very plain that God has His Elect ones who by faith in Jesus Christ are predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). They are adopted by God and Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4,5). This election is plainly declared to be based on the foreknowledge of God (1 Peter 1:2 and Rom. 8:29). Since God knows the end from the beginning He foreknows those who will believe in Christ. He has purposed that they will be to the praise of His glory throughout the ages and through them He will show the exceeding riches of His grace (Eph. 2:7).
The Scriptures are also very plain in stating that "whosoever will" may come to Christ. Please read the following Scriptures--John 3:15,16, 4:14, 12:46, Acts 2:21, 10:43, Rom. 10:13, Rev. 22:17. The word "whosoever" means all, any, every, the whole. Since we believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Word of God we are forced to believe that when God moves the Scripture writers to say "whosoever," then that is exactly what He means. That there is a condition to be met in order for one to be saved is proved by our Lord’s words in John 8:24--"for if ye believe not that I am he, ye. shall die in your sins." Other Scriptures have already been quoted under Total Inability to bear out the conditional requirement of believing in order to have salvation.
That God loves all men in this world and sent His Son to die for them is abundantly clear from John 3:16. The Five-Point Calvinist changes the meaning of the word "world" here and adds to the Word of God by placing immediately behind it two words, "the elect." The verse then appears this way, "For God so loved the world (the elect) that He gave His only begotten Son, etc.’’ I have seen this verse written in this way in gospel tracts. The word "world" is used 77 times in the Gospel of John, I would encourage you to take Strong’s Concordance and look up each utterance, then insert the wards "the elect" behind each usage of it. You do not have to go far before you see how ridiculous it is.
You see, if God does not love all men then we should not love them either. Since our Christian character comes from the indwelling of our Lord, we cannot show forth an attribute that is superior to His. Yet strangely enough, the Word of God says we are to love our enemies, our wives, our husbands, our children. If we must love lost sinners, and our Lord is holier than we are, we must believe that He loves them too. I’ll believe John 3:16 as it stands unaltered by the followers of John Calvin.
BigMack