I had an interesting conversation yesterday afternoon with a man who believed that God intends to save every single individual ever. I then asked him about people who have never heard of Jesus or the gospel. He stated, "It is not fair if everyone does not get a chance to go to heaven." I then asked pointed questions that caused him to say, "I don't know. I never thought about that."
The wonder of the teaching of Scripture is not that God hates sinners (something most people are amazed to hear and reject), but that He loves anyone. I need to be crystal clear here before I make my next point. There are no God seekers, no, not even one. No one thinks of themselves as being God haters, but we are by nature. We must be consistent in our thinking and look to the Scriptures for what God has said to these things.
If man is so dead in sin then God must be free to raise the dead. In order for grace to be grace, it can not be demanded by the creature (what so many preach today is that God must give everyone a chance). It is the nature of grace that it is free and freely GIVEN. This grace must be sufficient to save or God is an imperfect Savior.
In the Old Testament, God chose a people for Himself. He did not choose Egypt or Canaan. He did not choose the Philistines, Hittites, Jebusites or ect.. He chose Israel. In the New Testament, God has chosen as Peter says, "You are a chosen race, a royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation..."
This is the foundation to man's salvation. God has chosen or elected a people from every nation, tribe and language. He has chosen a number that can not be numbered. He also has chosen them IN CHRIST. There is no one who is chosen outside of Christ. These chosen ones are united in some way with Christ before the foundation of the world.
NO! God did not look down the corridor of time and see who would choose Him. God chooses according to the pleasure of His will to the Glory of His grace. Therefore there is no man that may boast that he was somehow smarter or more spiritual in his salvation.
This forms the basis of what has been called Eternal security. But some of you will ask, "So I can get saved and keep on sinning?" I will deal with that soon enough. So hang in there.
A La Carte (April 25)
12 hours ago
2 comments:
The great Reformed confessions do say that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him.
You stated, "What I have been wrestling with lately is that if the reprobate were never meant to know God through a relationship with Jesus Christ their lives serve less meaning than someone who is elect."
I guess in some sense that is true. But remember that God allows the fall of man so that He could do something even greater. Display His glorious grace. I guess the meaning of redemption and eternal life is increased as sin increased.
In other words, what we see in doctrine at Romans 6 is expressed to us in the Egyptians and Israelites. The Israelites were slaves. When God delivered them, the meaning of life for them should have been all the greater due to the contrast with not only their slavery and newfound freedom, but the contrast between their deliverance and Egypts destruction.
Great thought. I'll have to chew on that some more. Hopefully that answer may be a start to a longer and more thought out conversation.
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