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Table of Contents Please CLICK on one of the Links below to go to the respective chapter. CLICK on the Brown Bar at the Bottom of the chapter to Return HERE!! |
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God's Ultimate Intention |
Page 2 | |
| "Law and Grace", by Andrew Jukes | Page 4 | |
| From the Writings of William Law | Page 5 | |
| "ALL-In-ALL", by A. E. Knoch | Page 8 | |
| A Study In Job and Jonah | Page 9 | |
| "Christ Triumphant", by Thomas Allin | Page 11 | |
| TRUTH vs. "Sacred Cows" | Page 14 | |
| Summary and Prelude | Page 20 | |
| Paul's Soaring Logic | Page 22 | |
| To "Seek" -- Or To SAVE | Page 24 | |
| "Holiness Of God", by R. C. Sproul | Page 27 | |
| "Calvin and Election", by Dr. C.D. Cole | Page 30 | |
| "Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow" | Page 38 | |
| Scripture Reference and Major Premise Outline | Page 40 | |
| Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years ...... by J.W. HANSON, D.D. | ||
| Excerpt from "Christ Triumphant" --- the true meaning of the words "Aion" and "Aionios" ...... by Thomas Allin | ||
| Book "Christ Triumphant" ...... by Thomas Allin | ||
| Growth In the Realization of God ...... by James Coram | ||
| The Recognition of Universal Reconciliation ...... by Ernest L. Martin |
Printable Document ... A ".HTM" Document More Suitable for Printing ...
CHAPTER SIX ****** TRUTH vs. "Sacred Cows" The following treatise will be an expansion of the outline appearing at the end of this book. If you wish a very quick overview of the Biblical validity of my assertions, or to search out for yourself the scriptural references that I will be using, the outline will be an excellent reference tool. Since no intelligent discussion of any subject can be carried on unless all parties involved attach the same meaning and frame of reference to the symbols and words of the language being employed, I will begin my writing by conducting a brief Concordant inquiry into a few of the key Hebrew and Greek expressions that we will be dealing with. Please DO NOT let the idea of considering the Hebrew and Greek languages of the Holy Scripture overwhelm you. It is NOT necessary that you be able to read either Hebrew nor Greek in order to follow what I will be discussing. What IS necessary is an open heart, a teachable spirit, and a hunger to know the God of Creation and of the Holy Bible - the FATHER GOD! Over the centuries, God has continually made available to man greater measures of revelation and better tools to search and understand His Word, to the end that we might KNOW HIM who is beyond human comprehension in a greater, deeper way. This work (this book) owes a great debt of gratitude to a number of these tools. The first tool is the work and ministry of a man by name of Adolph Ernst Knock, and the ministry that represents his life work and love, the Concordant Publishing Concern. Out of this ministry came a Bible Translation called the Concordant Literal New (and Old) Testament and the writings and insight of A.E. Knoch and many other authors. The second tool of TREMENDOUS value to the layman such as myself is the computer, together with computerized Bible Translations, Lexicons, and Concordances. There are currently many, many excellent computer bible research programs, but one that I use and heartily recommend is called the "SeedMaster" System. The basic module is the "KJV", together with both Hebrew and Greek Lexicons, and a Concordance keyed to the Strong's numbers. Another VERY appealing feature about it is its' price. It is VERY inexpensive (under $20.00). If you have never used a Computer Bible, this one will revolutionize your Biblical Research. What may have previously taken you hours will now take minutes!!! As I mentioned in the beginning of this book, the Concordant Ministry also has their Old and New Testaments on computer disk. If you would like more information on how to effectively and inexpensively use this tool, please contact me. Now to begin!!! As I stated earlier, our first task is going to be to clarify some very confused Biblical words, and to lay a common foundation so that we might both be thinking the same thoughts and talking the same language. The following discussion IS NOT going to based upon emotional, religious rhetoric. It is rather going to be based upon THINKING, logic, scholarship, study, reason, and the scientific method of cause and effect, premise and conclusion -- All of these being keyed to and having their foundation in God's written revelation of Himself, the Holy Bible. If this prospect does not appeal to you -- If you are not willing to examine God's word with an unbiased heart and a willingness to abandon all ideas and concepts that can not be reconciled to a dissection of that word, no matter how dear and cherished they may be -- Then you would probably be well advised to quit reading now before your spirit becomes offended. Jesus said that HE is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. He also said that we CAN NOT truly know Him (and therefore can not know the Father) if we prefer the doctrines, dogmas, and traditions of MEN!! In John 3:19, the Bible makes a startling statement -- It says that, "Light came into the world, but that men PREFERRED the darkness!!" It also says in Romans Chapter 1 that men's minds became darkened because, "They did not see fit to honor God as Truly GOD." The first and hardest concept that we are going to have to reach a common understanding on before we can continue any further is the idea, as stated in the "KJV" and others, as "Eternal", "Forever", and "Forever and Ever". Neither the Hebrew nor the Greek knows any such concept!!! I am not going to devote a great deal of space to this idea because A.E. Knoch has many excellent, in depth studies
available through the Concordant Ministry. The most complete of these is: "The Greek Word 'Aion - Aionios', Translated 'Everlasting - Eternal'", by Rev. John Hanson. Simply write them at the address given in the beginning of this book and ask for their Order Blank. They also have an excellent series of expositions on the subject at their
WEB Site (click here). If you plan to continue beyond this point, I also strongly encourage you to order their Literal New Testament. If you have, or have access to a computer, it would be of tremendous help for you to order a copy of the "SeedMaster" System (click here), so that you may research my points for yourself.
You will never really understand or believe what I am going to be presenting unless you are interested enough to do so. In fact, I DO NOT want you to believe on my word alone. Why should you -- Who am I -- You don't know me??? There is already enough emotional, brainwashing
rhetoric in the Body of Christ without my adding to the supply!! What I desire is to provoke in you a Holy Spirit fueled hunger, that like the Bereans, you will seek out these things for yourself. Thus may God use one or many of you to go BEYOND what He has already revealed of Himself and His purpose to men of the past, and reveal new facets of His "Mystery Hidden from Ages Past". If I lose you at this point, may God richly bless your life and grant to you grace that, "The eyes of your heart might be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the Saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." Eph.1:18,19 In the Greek Scriptures, the word rendered "Eternal" in the "KJV" is the word "Aeon" (Strong's Reference # 165), which denotes an age or an indeterminate period of time. The exact length of time is of no importance for our discussion. That this is so is born out by the fact that the word is translated "age" twice in the "KJV" and many times more in other translations. The word rendered "Everlasting" and "Forever" is the adjective of this word, "Aeonian" (# 166). My outline will give you the exact number of different words that the "KJV" uses to translate these two words. That these words can NOT possibly denote the concept of "Eternity" as we have come to give it meaning may be born out by looking at a number of scriptures. These passages ascribe to the "Aeons" both beginning and end, as well as indicating that there is more than ONE "Aeon" in Gods timetable. Please refer to the outline. Another interesting contradiction of our revered "KJV" may be seen in IC2 and IC3. One speaks of "a world without end" and the other speaks of "the end of the world". Now which is it??? A sane, rational mind would agree that BOTH can not be right. The "KJV" also tells us that there was a time BEFORE the "Eternity(s)" began??? An informative definition of the words AEON and AEONIAN is obtained from the American Heritage Dictionary, Version 3.5. See following: ae·on (¶÷¼n÷, ¶÷÷n) n. Variant of eon. e·on also ae·on (¶÷¼n÷, ¶÷÷n) --n. 1. An indefinitely long period of time; an age. 2. The longest division of geologic time, containing two or more eras. [Late Latin ae½n, from Greek ai½n. See aiw- below.] ae·o·ni·an (¶-½÷n¶-÷n) adj. Variant of eonian. e·o·ni·an also ae·o·ni·an (¶-½÷n¶-÷n) --adj. Of, relating to, or constituting an eon. aiw-. Important derivatives are: no1, ever, every, never, medieval, age, eternal, eon. aiw-. Vital force, life, long life, eternity; also ÷endowed with the acme of vital force, young.÷ 1.a. NO1, from Old English ³, ever; b. AUGHT1, from Old English ³wiht, ³uht, anything, ÷ever a creature÷; c. EVER; EVERY, NEVER, from Old English Æfre (second element obscure), ever; d. AYE2; NAY, from Old Norse ei, ever. a, c, and d all from extended form in Germanic *aiwi; b from Germanic *aiwi ÿ *wihti, ÷ever a thing, anything÷ (*wihti-, thing; see wekti-). 2.a. Suffixed form *aiw-o-. COEVAL, LONGEVITY, MEDIEVAL, PRIMEVAL, from Latin aevum, age, eternity; b. suffixed form *aiwo-t³(ti)-. AGE; COETANEOUS, from Latin aet³s (stem aet³ti-), age; c. suffixed form *aiwo-t-erno-. ETERNAL; SEMPITERNAL, from Latin aeternus, eternal. 3. Suffixed form *aiw-en-. EON, from Greek ai½n, age, vital force. [Pokorny aiø- 17.] See also *yuwen- under yeu-. More than this, I don't wish to say on this subject at this time, other than that God is working through a series of "ages" or "Aeons" to accomplish His purpose (Eph. 3:11), and that none of these ages is "Eternal". If we can agree so far, we can go on. If we can not agree, than we BOTH have a problem. My problem will be that most of what I have to say will be to you Heresy and/or foolishness since we will NOT have a common frame of reference. Your problem will be that, given your meaning of the words under consideration, much of God's Word is contradictory and foolish, and makes no rational sense (if that is important to you)!!! The second concept that we are going to examine is the time honored tradition of man's "Free Will". I propose to demonstrate that God has bestowed upon man the dignity of "choice", NOT "Free Will". Free Will to me implies a self-determinate sovereignty. If man DOES NOT posses this self-determination, than his will IS NOT FREE, for it is subject to the control and/or influence of one or more outside and/or inner forces. Also, if man has a "Free Will", then I contend that Satan, a being FAR greater in power and glory than man, must also most certainly have a "Free Will". If you hold the orthodox interpretation of this doctrine to be true, then I assert that we do NOT have ONE supreme, sovereign GOD, but rather THREE Sovereign, Independent, Self-determinate Beings who fit our theological definitions of "gods". Consider the ultimate implication of this position. If a puny creature like Man can resist, contradict, and thwart God's will, then surely Satan can do likewise. If this is true, than God IS NOT in control of the universe no matter WHAT word tricks you may pull out of your theological bag!! If God does NOT have ultimate and absolute control over the universe and all that is in it, what assurances do you or I have that He can really accomplish that which He promises?? How do we know after we get to "Heaven" that sin may not break out into the universe again?? What confidence do we have that Satan might not escape from the Lake of Fire and seduce some other world into sin?? Whatever your opinion on this subject may be, God's Word most certainly DOES NOT support such a concept. If you subscribe to the current crop of platitudes such as, "The Holy Spirit is a gentleman" and, "God never forces anyone to do anything," you are going to be greatly shocked and at a loss to explain some of His clear declarations in His Word. Take for instance Isaiah 43:13, where God clearly proclaims, "I Am God. I do as I wish, and who can withstand Me?" He (God) repeats this assertion in Isaiah 46:10 where He proclaims, " I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: MY PURPOSE WILL STAND, and I will DO ALL THAT I PLEASE." It seems that Job, in the book bearing his name, had a similar exalted opinion of himself and Man in general, as does Orthodox Christianity today. He felt that surely, if God would only give him a chance, he could explain a few things and straighten God out on certain matters. Finally, when he DID get a chance to talk with God face-to-face, the outcome was that Job's view of himself was properly adjusted. He was brought to see that previously, he had spoken ONLY from secondhand knowledge of things he had heard from others and really knew nothing about himself. Now that he had seen and heard God in person, he realized just how small, weak, and ignorant he really was. If you will refer to the scriptures in Item II of the outline, you will readily see that what is portrayed in God's Word is that there is but ONE FREE WILL, and that belongs to God alone. He states quite emphatically that ALL wills and ALL creatures move in conformity to the council and dictates of HIS WILL. We may BELIEVE that we are making independent choices based upon our "Free Will", but God is there, constantly working behind the scene to move ALL according to the council of HIS Will and Purpose (Eph. 1:11). While I will admit that our human vanity, pride, and ego may chafe under this truth, that does NOT render it any-the-less true!! So strongly is this "Ego-Need" to be in control entrenched within Man's heart, that he has substituted for the scripture of Rom 3:4, "Let God be true though every man be a liar," HIS rendering of, "Let God's Word be made a lie so that MAN's word may be true!" The Apostle Paul goes to great pains, especially in the Book of Galatians, to establish that Salvation is purely the work of God alone, requiring NO contribution from Man. He stresses over and over that it was a work finished from, "before the Ages began", totally complete and lacking in nothing -- a gift bestowed by a loving God upon His Lost and Wayward Children!! Jesus states repeatedly that for THIS purpose was He sent, "To seek and save that which was lost." Yet, in the arrogance and conceit of his egotistical heart, Man insists that it is HE who must hunt for and seek after God until HE (Man) finds Him!! Then, by great labor in penitence and many "Good Works", he must secure and maintain this "Gift of Salvation". Even the more enlightened souls pride themselves upon the fact that THEY were "Wise and Intelligent" enough to see the wickedness of their ways and to grasp hold of this bounty of salvation. This, even though Jesus also stated very clearly that, "No man can come to me unless the Father draws that man." This fact is further emphasized by the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:11,12 where he states, "NO ONE seeks after God ..... there is NO ONE who does good, NOT EVEN ONE." I don't know how much clearer God can make it than in Rom.9:16 where He emphatically states that, "It does NOT depend upon man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." The absolute need of establishing this truth firmly in our mind will become clear as my arguments continue. See "The Problem of Evil and the Judgments of God," by A. E. Knock, pps. 121-144 for a superb discussion of this matter of Wills. Third in our line of inquiry today is the concept of "Hell". In the "KJV" and other versions, this one English word is used to render four different Greek and Hebrew words. They are "Sheol" in the Old Testament, (the New Testament equivalent is "Hades"), "Gehenna", and "Tartarus". In the OT, Sheol carries the concept of "the unseen or the imperceptible", and this idea is carried into the NT by the word "Hades". This may be seen where quotations from the OT that used the word "Sheol" are rendered "Hades" There is NO Biblical warrant (except for ONE very figurative example in Luke 16:23) for considering "Sheol" or "Hades" as a place of torment or punishment, as both the just as well as the unjust went there at death. A fine example of the bias of the "KJV" is in Acts 2:27,31, where they have the Soul of Jesus after His crucifixion in "HELL" (Hades). "Gehenna", also known as "The Valley of Hinnom", was a refuse dump south of Jerusalem used to burn and dispose of garbage and dead carcasses. "Tartarus", used only one time in the Bible (Peter 2:4), appears to be a prison where the sinning angels are being held until the Day of Judgment. Another place lumped into the classic "Hell" by many Christians is "The Lake of Fire" of Revelations. This is, however, a distinctly different place with a distinctly different purpose. A rather interesting scripture is Rev 20:14, "Death and HELL were thrown into the Lake of Fire." If the Lake of Fire is merely another name for "Hell", how could it be thrown into itself?? If it IS NOT "Hell", then what is it and what is its purpose?? The Biblical function of "HELL", or Sheol and Hades, seems to be as the resting place for the dead when the Spirit of God is separated from the body, and the "Soul" or "Sensations" ceases. There the just await the "Last Trump of Christ", when they shall be called forth and raised immortal, and the unjust await the Great White Throne Judgment. This was of necessity a VERY brief and sketchy discourse on the vital subject of Death and "Hell". For much greater depth, I highly recommend "Death, Resurrection, and Immortality," by Joseph E. Kirk, available from the Concordant Publishing Concern. The forth "Sacred Cow" that we are going to investigate is that of "Man's Immortality" or the theological doctrine of the "Immortality of the Soul". When Satan tempted Eve (and Adam) in the Garden of Eden, he offered them the duel lie "You shall NOT DIE and you shall be like God." Human philosophy and Orthodox Theology have propagated these lies down to the present day!! Man says that mankind is Immortal, i.e., that we have "Immortal Souls" (whatever a "Soul" separated from Body and Spirit might be). He says that upon death, this "Immortal Soul" either goes to be with God, or passes on into the regions of "Hell" to be tormented by Satan and his legions for "Eternity" or "Forever and Ever". As usual, God's Word portrays a different scenario. First, at the beginning (Gen 3:22,23), God drove Adam OUT of The Garden of Eden, that, "He might NOT live forever !!" He says in 1Tim 6:15,16 that there is ONE ONLY who is immortal, and that is God. He says further, that immortality has been revealed or brought to man through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ (2 Tim 1:10). The Bible states that the dead in Christ shall be MADE alive (quickened). It is this power from Christ, imparted to us, that grants immortality (see Strong's reference 2227, 11 occurrences). Finally, let's take a look at 1Cor 15:53-55, where the context is concerned with the Last Trumpet, when the dead in Christ shall be raised and the living in Christ shall be changed. Here is the unmistakable assertion that we, who are MORTAL and CORRUPTIBLE, must put on IMMORTALITY AND INCORRUPTION!! It also states quite clearly that, "The dead in Christ shall be RAISED." If they have already ascended upon death to be with the Lord, where are they being RAISED from??? Finally, at the consummation of the ages, the last enemy, Death, will finally be destroyed. Until that time, it would appear that Death is still very much "alive" and active, continuing to claim his victims. It might also be noted that in Luke 20:26, Jesus states that those taking part in the age to come and the resurrection from the dead, "Will no longer be able to die." I contend, along with many clear assertions of God's Word, that at death we DIE. Our body returns to the ground, our Spirit returns to God, and our soul returns to Sheol (Hades) or the Unseen, awaiting the resurrection. Then, the just will be raised and granted Immortality, never to die again, and the unjust will be raised to judgment. More on this subject, and the importance of it to our line of reasoning, will be unveiled as we continue. The fifth travesty of translation (or better MIStranslation) that we are going to investigate is the word "Judgment", and the BIBLICAL concept of judgment versus that which exists in the minds of modern man. To the minds of most men today, "Judgment - Condemnation - and Damnation" are synonyms (they mean the same thing). The "KJV" uses these three words to translate the same Greek word (Strong's Ref. # 2920). It is automatically assumed that, when God brings men before Himself for "Judgment", it is REALLY for the purpose of accusing, condemning, punishing, and damning!! Thus it may come as a severe shock for us to consider that the BIBLICAL concept of the word "Judge and Judgment" is in reality one of correcting injustice or making right that which is wrong. It is NOT damnation BUT correction. This was the purpose of God in appointing Judges in Israel to render Judgment to the people. Discipline would be closer in meaning, but that word has also been twisted and distorted in the minds of men today. We may thank our revered "KJV" in great part for hiding this concept behind a thick veil of confusion and misapprehension. The word "Judgment" appears 285 times in the Old and New Testaments. It is used to render NO LESS than 24 different Greek words (see outline). The two Strong's Ref. #'s that we are going to consider here (for time and space sake) are 04941 in the OT and it's NT equivalent 2920. That 2920 corresponds to 04941 may be seen from the NT quotes of OT passages. Three examples are Isa 42:1 to Math 12:18, Isa 42:3 to Math 12:20, and Isa 53:8 to Acts 8:33. If you have any doubt as to the personal bias of the "KJV" translators, consider that in 44 passages, 2920 is rendered "Judgment". Then, where it suits their theology in Math 23:33, Mark 3:29, and John 5:29, they render the SAME word "Damnation" !!!! It is my contention, based upon a concordant analysis of the Word of God, that the PRIMARY meaning of "Judgment" when executed by God is toward Correction. That is, it is Remedial, with the aim of setting right that which is wrong, of making straight that which is crooked, or of bringing Justice from INjustice. In the OT, many of the passages that use the word "Judgment" from Strong's # 04941 (which is the primary one we are considering at this time) tie it together with executing Justice and doing Right (Gen 18:19,25; 1 Cron 18:14). Both the Books of Psalms and Proverbs speak of "Judgment" as something to be desired and beneficial, like Wisdom. The Book of Isaiah is particularly instructive in this respect. Many times God reprimands Jerusalem because He looked for Justice, Mercy, Righteous, and JUDGMENT to be found there -- and THEY WERE NOT. Therefore, He says, He will purge her of her dross and sins with a Spirit of JUDGMENT, then she will return to Him as the spotless bride that He intended her to be. God's ENTIRE dealings with the nation of Israel were a Parable in which He reveals His purpose and heart in Judgment. He calls it His "Strange Work" and His "Alien Task" (Isa. 28:21). Judgment IS NOT God's ordinary dealing with His creation, but rather His EXTRAordinary!! The history of Israel and almost ALL the utterances of His OT Prophets show forth His heart regarding judgment. Jer 30:12 - 31:14 is a prime example demonstrating this heart. First, He condemns Israel for her wickedness, telling her that, "Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing, there is NO remedy for your sore, NO healing for you." Then He makes sure that Israel clearly understands that it was NOT some outside enemy or foreign invader that did these things to her, but that it was GOD Himself who was responsible. He clarifies that it is also NOT some vindictive act of vengeance, but is done for her healing and restoration. He comforts her with the promise that, "I will restore your health and heal your wounds. I will have compassion on you and restore your fortunes." Why will He do this?? God assures Israel that it is because, "I have loved you with an everlasting love and have drawn you with cords of loving-kindness to build you up again." I ask you, "If this is God's heart in the temporal, would it NOT most certainly also be His heart in the much greater spiritual??" On this passage, I conclude my point. In Type and Shadow, the OT teaches that God's "Judgment" IS NOT Damnation - It is the Spirit of Cleansing and Restoration. YES, in certain cases God's Judgment may be severe, VERY Severe. It is non-the-less NOT Damnation, nor is it "Eternal". When it has done the work for which it was intended, the blessed results are reconciliation and fellowship with God. Please reference "The Problem of Evil and the Judgments of God", by A. E. Knock, pps. 227-344, for an Excellent, in-depth analysis of this subject. You say that you believe that every word in the Bible is to be taken literally. You assert loudly that EVERY word, from Genesis to Revelation is absolutely true. You blithely proclaim that there are NO contradictions in God's Holy Word. Fantastic!! Let us now look at some of the, "Dark Sayings of God" -- the things "Hard to Understand", and see how they fit into your theology. If "Aeon" means "Eternity" or "Forever" (What "Forever-and-Ever" might mean is another point worthy of earnest thought); If the unbeliever is to be tormented in the Orthodox "Hell" for this "Eternity" ; If the fate of the unbeliever is sealed at their death ; If Mankind TRULY has a "FREE and UNassailable Will"; And if God creates ONLY that which WE deem "GOOD" -- then I offer the following passages for your learned comments. Refer to the outline, Item IV: 1. Throughout MUCH of the "OLD Testament", especially the Book of Isaiah, and particularly Isa. 45:7 and 54:16, we are presented with a very real dilemma according to Orthodox Theology. IF IT IS TRUE that God creates ONLY that which we as humans would label as "GOOD", and then Satan is responsible for taking that "GOOD" and twisting it into what we call "EVIL", these verses will require some VERY imaginative interpretation. For here God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, loudly and triumphantly proclaims that it is HE HIMSELF who creates BOTH Light AND Darkness; Peace (or Wellness) AND Evil (or Wickedness). He goes on to say that HE is responsible for creating the Blacksmith who forms the Weapons of War and that HE created the Destroyer to wreck Havoc. It will do NO GOOD, as some translations and some Bible Teachers have done, to attempt to retranslate the word "EVIL" so as to remove its Moral implications by using words like "Disaster", etc. This subterfuge is nothing short of AN OUTRIGHT LIE !! Anyone with a Concordance can check to verify that the word rendered "Evil" in the "KJV" is Strong's #07451. This word is the basic word of the OT used to denote Evil and Wickedness, and is so rendered "Evil" 442 times and "Wickedness" 59 times. By contrast, the word rendered "Peace" in the "KJV" is Strong's #07965, and is translated as "Peace" 175 times and as "Well" 14 times. 2. Math 12:32 - this verse refers to the sin against the Holy Spirit. Is it perhaps possible, from the wording of this verse, that there might be forgiveness for OTHER SINS in the Age (World) to come. Also, I sincerely pray that there may be forgiveness for the translators of the "KJV" for their unwarranted rendering of the word "Aeon" at this point as "World". Perhaps it was because even THEY did not think that it made sense to write "In this Eternity or the Eternity to come." 3. Luke 12:46-48 - Since this parable is comparing an earthly master to our Heavenly Master, the question that comes to mind is, "Will there be varying degrees of torment in "Hell"?? However, if a moments logical reflection is given to the matter, it will have to be conceded that ANY degree of torment, extended into "Eternity", becomes infinite in magnitude. How then, can you have varying degrees of infinity?? 4. John 9:1-5 - This passage presents rather a perplexing difficulty. Here, JESUS HIMSELF asserts that God brought a man into life, blind from birth, so that He (God) might USE this man as an instrument to work through and to display Himself to the world through. This would seem to cast somewhat of a blot upon the "Theory of Free Will" 5. Acts 2:27,31 - After His ordeal of betrayal, torture, humiliation, and crucifixion, when even the Heavenly Father turned His back on Him, was the "Soul" of Jesus REALLY committed to "Hell"?? Was this the just deserts for the spotless Lamb of God after He triumphantly proclaimed, "It is finished!!" If Jesus did go to "Hell", then I ask you, "For what purpose??" 6. Romans 2:14-16 - Is it possible that, on the Day of Judgment, those who have done "by nature" the things written in the Law will be excused for certain parts of their conduct?? Also, if man has a totally "depraved" or "sinful nature", how can he keep any of God's Law "by nature"?? 7. Romans 9:16-23 - Here we are faced with one of those scriptures, about which, if we read it in the context of Orthodox Doctrine, it needs truly be said that, "Seeing they DID NOT see and hearing , they DID NOT hear." Paul emphatically states that God raised up Pharaoh of Egypt specifically to fulfill His (God's) purpose, namely, that he might be a vessel through whom God, "Might display to the world His Power and thereby, His name might be proclaimed in ALL the earth." Paul goes on to say that therefore, "God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and HARDENS WHOM HE WANTS TO HARDEN!!" What is the standard interpretation of God's dealings with Pharaoh, however?? It is that Pharaoh hardened HIS OWN heart using HIS OWN "Free Will". Therefore, God was "Just" in continuing to pour out His plagues and judgments on Egypt. I again point out to you, "This IS NOT what Paul is saying!! He is saying that God planed and orchestrated this entire episode with Pharaoh in order to fulfill His (God's) own preordained purpose. Orthodoxy counters, "But HOW could a merciful God coerce a man into doing something, and then turn around and JUDGE him for it?" The Scripture gives us only ONE answer, "God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy ...." Therein, also, lies OUR problem. WE would seek to JUDGE God by OUR standards, rather than bow in subjection before Him who is Creator AND Owner. The question is, "Will we trust God to be God?" The scriptures also assure us that, "God has shut up ALL in stubbornness, that He may have mercy upon ALL." (Rom. 11:32). Let us , therefore, wait for Him to do it in His time and in His Way. 8. 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6 - These passages present some REAL difficulties for Orthodox Exegesis. They claim, in clear English, that Jesus went and preached to those Spirits who were in prison and to the DEAD.
CHAPTER SEVEN ****** Summary and Prelude At long last we reach the CLIMAX of this book, the point to which ALL the preceding was merely preparatory. It is here that we will approach the Grand Declaration of God's Holy Word, namely, that His ultimate intention is nothing less than the "Reconciliation of ALL Things". In Eph 1:10; Col 1:20; and Philp 2:10,11, He clearly states, if we have eyes to see and a heart to believe, that this ALL refers to things in Heaven, things ON the earth, and things UNDER the earth. This certainly seems to encompass God's WHOLE creation!! In other words, if we will look past our unbelief, past our hardness of heart, past the traditions and the dogmas of man, and finally, past the prejudices of Orthodoxy, we will see that the true heart of God's Word is UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION or UNIVERSAL SALVATION. If you have stayed with me to this point in the book and have followed the sequence of arguments that I have lain before you, I am going to ask one final indulgence of you. That is that you will CAREFULLY consider the sequence of scriptural passages that I am going to conclude with. Dwell upon them, meditate upon them, let them sink deep into your mind like the life-giving spring rains, dissect them and inspect them. When you have done all this, if the English language has any meaning and words mean what we say that they do, then, though you MAY NOT YET agree with me, you WILL have to agree that there is some vast discrepancy between these clear declarations of the Bible (God's Word) and Orthodox Doctrine (Man's word). I entreat you again, not for my sake (for who am I but one of MANY of God's spokesmen?) but for yours. It is my sole desire that your heart might be set free from the fear and prejudice of Man's Doctrines, and be released into the freedom to soar to greater heights of knowing God and understanding His Grand Purpose!!!! Don't let the heart of the Pharisee dwell in your breast. Contrary to how they are often portrayed by the Church, many of the Pharisees were good, devout and holy men as pertaining to the Law. Their weakness was that they preferred the, "Praise of Men over the Praise of God". They allowed their human Dogmas, Doctrines, and Prejudices to DISPLACE and REPLACE God's Word and a vital relationship to Him. Thus were their, "Ears stopped and their Eyes blinded", and when their long awaited Messiah DID come, they neither COULD nor WOULD acknowledge Him because He DID NOT comply with THEIR Religious System!!! Before we begin this grand consummation, allow me to repeat, by way of refreshment, a number of key points that have previously been established: 1. God has divided this era of His dealing with Man into a number of "Aeons" or ages. These consist of various and/or undefined periods of time. The exact number of "Aeons" is not important right now, though there seems to be Biblical support for the number FIVE. Also, the number of years in each "Aeon" does not in any way affect our stream of discussion. What IS important is that God's redemptive dealings with Man ARE NOT "ETERNAL", but take place within the sphere of these various "Aeons". Thus, the unbeliever does not suffer "Eternal Damnation", but rather Judgment and "Aeonian" or age-abiding chastisement. 2. Neither Man nor Satan has "Free Will" as it is commonly understood (or better misunderstood), but rather has freedom of choice, with God more than able to work behind the scene to direct and influence said "choosing". Thus God, as He repeatedly proclaims in His Word (and as WE repeatedly ignore), moves ALL things according to the council of HIS WILL. As Shakespeare so aptly put it, "All the world is a stage, and the people merely players." This DOES NOT make us puppets, but it DOES make us merely Creatures (and NOT gods as we would like to think) in the hands of our Creator. We are the clay in the hands of the great potter, fashioned according to HIS design and purpose. 3. God's "Judgment" IS NOT vindictive punishment. It is most certainly NOT the angry outburst of a frustrated, impotent God against an unruly creation that has broken free from the will of its weaker Creator!!!! Judgment is the ultimate tool in the hand of the Great Potter to restore His cracked and broken creation back to beauty and usefulness. It is the Good Shepherd finding and restoring the "Black Sheep" back to the fold. It is the Loving and Ever-patient Father, bringing the Prodigal once more into the family. 4. "Hell" is NOT a place of "Eternal" torment where "the worm dies not and the flame never ceases", Judgment IS NOT vindictive torment, and man does NOT inherently posses immortality. Upon his death, man's body returns to the earth, his spirit returns to God, and his soul returns to Sheol, Hades, or the "Unseen", awaiting the resurrection. At the "Last Trumpet", believers will be raised to meet our Lord in the air where we will be granted Spiritual bodies with the resulting immortality. Unbelievers will await the "Great White Throne Judgment". There, their sins will be "Judged" and they themselves will be dealt with in such a way as to effect their final restoration. They will then be cast into the "Lake of Fire which is the Second Death", awaiting the consummation at the end of the "Aeons". 5. Thus will ALL be saved by the"Blood of the Sacrifice of the Lamb", Jesus Christ. Believers are saved during this "Aeon" of Grace by Faith in Him whom we have not seen and in His Word. Our sins are purged by the "Fire of the Holy Spirit" working in us NOW. Unbelievers will be saved by Sight and by Judgment in the day of the "Great White Throne". Their sins will be purged by the fires of Judgment on that day when "Heaven and Earth shall flee from the face of Him who sits upon the throne," and all things shall be exposed to His and their gaze. Thus shall WE reign and rule with Him during the last two "Aeons", while the unbelievers shall, during this time, be cast into the "Lake of Fire". Finally, at the end of the "Aeons", shall come the grand consummation. At last sin, death, suffering, and pain shall be no more, ALL shall be made alive and restored to fellowship with their Father and Creator, and God shall fulfill His Word. He shall finally be ALL in ALL of His Creatures!!! As we reach the consummation of this book, we are going to spend the remainder of the time analyzing in detail a large number of scriptures that explicitly state this Glorious Goal. These can only be denied by deliberate intent. They ARE NOT ambiguous or "Dark Sayings", but are quit the contrary clear and concise expressions of the English language. You MAY choose to disbelieve them and cling rather to your own doctrine. God has given you this option. You CAN NOT, however, say that they do not exist or really do NOT say what the seem to say. If these scriptures do not say what the clear rendering of English would attribute to them, then NONE of the scriptures can be relied upon to say anything meaningful, for the English language will have lost any meaning!! If this is the case, then your faith rests upon NOTHING, and you are the most foolish and wretched of men (or women)!!! Before beginning the investigation of the aforementioned scriptures, I want to address two pointed questions for your consideration. The first is for the fathers among my readers. I appeal to the love in your fallen human nature that you have for your own children. Before you say that you can't reason from man to God, I would remind you that Jesus thought otherwise. In Math 7:11, He asks , "If YOU, being wicked, know how to give good gifts to YOUR children, will not our Heavenly Father do MUCH MORE for HIS Children?" Which of you fathers, if you had the power to change the situation, would rest content to watch as EVEN ONE of your offspring writhed in the torment of "ENDLESS FIRE"? Yet it says of Jesus in Isaiah 53:11, "He will see the result of the suffering of His soul, and be SATISFIED." BE SATISFIED, with not ONE of his offspring in the torments of "Hell", but millions upon untold millions!!! There is something seriously wrong with your concept of Love, let alone with your concept of God, if you can truly believe this!!! It says in 1Tim 2:4 that God, "Wills that ALL men be saved." It DOES NOT say "Wishes", but "Wills". Ephesians 1:11 also says that God, "Works ALL things according to the purpose of HIS Will." In the teaching of Orthodox Christianity, this leads to one of two conclusions -- Either the Holy Scriptures lie, and God REALLY Wills that untold millions should burn in the torments of "Hell", or, despite all of the empty claims of Christendom regarding the Sovereignty and All-Encompassing Power of its "god", He is really only a second-rate deity, overruled and frustrated in His "desires" by the much stronger wills of Satan and MAN. If such is the case, it would appear that Satan's taunt toward Eve was quite correct when he promised her that, "She would be as God." In reality, she has EXCEEDED God, in that her will is superior to His !!!" Such is the "god" that Orthodox Christendom is proud to worship and exalt in. In truth, salvation becomes NOT HIS work, but rather MY work. He only OFFERS salvation. Ultimately, it is wholly up to me to grasp hold of it and to preserve for a lifetime, for a "god" who is shackled by MY WILL can certainly NOT be depended upon to insure my ultimate deliverance. Well, I praise God with my whole heart that He, by His Sovereign Grace, has opened my eyes and heart to see the truth that, though this might be YOUR "god", it is most surely NOT the Great "I AM" of the Holy Scriptures!!! The second point that I would have you to meditate upon came by way of a Prophetic Utterance during a worship service at the church I attend. It was a challenge to the assembly NOT to diminish HIS power by OUR lack of faith and/or excess of arrogance. The question that was poised by God to us was as follows: "When I reached out my arm to redeem YOU, was YOUR heart less wicked than that of other men? Did YOU posses a greater level of goodness and righteous in My sight than other men? Were YOU less in need of MY Grace and Salvation, or perhaps LESS LOST and rebellious than other men? Was there perhaps some GOOD THING IN YOU that brought about YOUR redemption??" If you would say, "NO, I was as ALL of Adam's Children, equally in need and equally lost," then I ask you, 'If MY Love and Grace were sufficient to redeem YOU, why then do you say in your heart that they can not redeem ALL MEN???'"
CHAPTER EIGHT ****** Paul's Soaring Logic With these points for you to ponder upon, we will now move into a consideration of the concluding scriptures. The scriptures for this final dissertation will be found in the outline Item VII. There they are listed in Scripture order, but I am going to group them according to thought for our discussion. The first set of passages that we are going to consider begins with Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Cor 15:22. They are both FIRST in order and FIRST in significance to the theme under scrutiny. The Apostle Paul at this point rises to profound heights of mathematical logic as he labors to prove that the extend of redemption not only equals but EXCEEDS the extent of sin. His argument may be broken down into the following points: 1. Sin entered into the world through ONE man -- Adam. Through him, sin was passed through to ALL the rest of his descendants, or to ALL humanity. After Adam, NO ONE had a choice in the matter. They ALL came into the world as Sinners. 2. Jesus Christ, the SECOND Adam, came to nullify or undo the damage that the first Adam brought upon his race. 3. The Second Adam bears the same relationship to the human race, that of Father or procreator, as did the First Adam. Therefore, the results of HIS actions will be AT LEAST as inclusive as those of the First Adam. 4. Paul, however, claims that the results of the work of the Second Adam will FAR EXCEED those of the First Adam. 5. What were the respective gifts of the two Adams?? Through the First Adam SIN and DEATH spread to ALL MEN. Verse 15 states that by the trespass of the one man (Adam) the "MANY" died. Now let me ask you clearly -- Who are the "MANY"?? If the "MANY" does NOT refer to ALL humanity, then you are telling me that there were some SINLESS beings that Jesus DID NOT need to die for. However, Romans 3:23 and 5:12 say that ALL have sinned. Also, make a clear note of this -- This "MANY" DID NOT have to do anything to be constituted sinners. It was their inheritance from their father, Adam !! 6. Verse 19 goes on to say that IN LIKE MANNER, or according to the same rule or principle, the gift of the Second Adam will overflow to this SAME "MANY". If the "MANY" that received the gift of the First Adam means ALL of Humanity, by what possible manner of reasoning can you make the "MANY" that receive of the gift of the Second Adam to be anything less than ALL of humanity?? What is the gift of the Second Adam? It is nothing less than that the "MANY" shall be JUSTIFIED and made RIGHTEOUS!!! 7. Paul says, if our hearts and faith can be stretched to believe and receive it, that the gift of Jesus Christ will bring EVEN GREATER GLORY than this. He says that the "gift IS NOT like the trespass." The disobedience of ONE MAN brought death to the "MANY". How much greater weight of glory will be released into the universe by the OBEDIENCE of the ONE MAN, Jesus Christ?? 8. In closing, it is noteworthy that Orthodox Christianity makes Paul to be a liar on this point, and the Obedience of Christ to be a trifling thing compared to the Disobedience of Adam. According to them, Adam's sin brought death and destruction to ALL men, while the GLORY of the Father will, in reality, impart Life and Righteous to only a VERY SMALL handful of humanity. 9. (1Cor 15:22) sums this point up quite explicitly. It states that, "As in Adam ALL die, so in Christ shall ALL be made alive." Perhaps at this point you will defend your doctrine of "Eternal Damnation" by insisting that even those in "Hell" are alive. Then I ask YOU, "Can they be 'in Hell' and be 'in Christ' at the same time??" As I read the Scripture, it asserts that to be "in Christ" is to be connected to the Life of the Vine, to have the impartation of the Holy Spirit, and to be partakers of all of the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. In other words, it is to have "Resurrection Life and Immortality". As Paul further states in 2Cor 5:17, "If ANYONE is IN CHRIST, he is a NEW Creature. The old has passed away." 10. This line of reasoning is also contained in Isaiah 53:11,12, where Isaiah is foretelling the suffering of the Messiah. Here he states that the Messiah will justify "MANY", as He will bear the sins of this same "MANY". Moving along, we meet with another of Paul's mathematical -- logical arguments in Romans 6:5-8 linked with 2 Cor 5:14. I would like to regress a moment for the sake of the mathematically minded among my readers, and consider the form of his logic on this point. It is the same form that he used in the previous point. Paul uses an algebraic formula that says if D=A, and D=B, and D=C, then D=A=B=C. Here is the analysis of Paul's reasoning based upon Romans 6:5-8 and 2 Cor 5:14: D= IF we have been united with Him in
HIS Death (or we have died with Him). 2 Cor 5:14 goes on to make the Glorious Assertion which the LOVE of CHRIST compels us to proclaim, namely, "That we are CONVINCED that one (Jesus Christ) DID indeed die for ALL, therefore, ALL have died." Theorem D is therefore true, "That we HAVE ALL been united with Him in His death." It therefore follows that Theorems A, B and C need also be true: that, "We have ALL been freed from Sin," "We ALL will be united with Him in His Resurrection," and "We will ALL live with Him." As in 1Cor 15:23, however, "Each in his own turn." The theological mechanics of exactly HOW ALL Humanity died, first in Adam and secondly in Christ, are outside the scope of our present discussion. However, I am sure that you at least ACCEPT the fact that in the First Adam all died, rendering ALL Humanity sinful (you MUST believe this if you are an Orthodox Christian). This being the case, you are then COMPELLED to accept that in the Second Adam ALL died again, with the result being Justification to ALL Humanity.
CHAPTER NINE ****** To "Seek" Or To SAVE The Apostle Paul makes an impressive and enlightening statement in 1 Tim 1:15,16, where he states, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves FULL ACCEPTANCE: Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE SINNERS -- of whom I am the WORST. But for that very reason, I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His UNLIMITED patience as an EXAMPLE for those who would believe on him and receive 'Aeonian' life." Talk about a scripture pregnant with revelation!!!! Let us take some time and outline a number of the key issues that Paul raises here. Apparently, Paul feels that what he is unveiling here is of PARAMOUNT importance, as he begins by pointing out that what he is about to say is worthy of FULL acceptance. What is worthy of Full acceptance?? That Jesus came into the world to SAVE SINNERS!!! You say, "Of course, ALL Christians believe that." I ask you, however, to follow closely to what I am about to lay before you and see if, in reality, "ALL Christians" REALLY believe this, and whether this point has anywhere near "FULL acceptance". Both Jesus Himself and the Apostle Paul state that He (Jesus) came to, "Seek and to SAVE that which was LOST" Luke 19:10 (Consider also the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin in Luke 15:3-10. It states clearly that the Seeker in the parables continues to seek "UNTIL He may be finding that which was lost !!"). As I have pointed out earlier, Paul states in 1Tim 2:4 that, "God WILLS that ALL men be saved." Now I put the following question to you plainly and challenge you for an Honest, Intelligent answer. The question is simply this, "Would not a sane, rational, intelligent man (or woman) find it exceedingly strange that an ALL powerful, ALL knowing, ALL loving, SOVEREIGN God who claims that what He decrees none can contradict, and who governs the Universe according to the "Council of His Will", would fail as miserably in His avowed purpose as Orthodox Christianity proclaims??? If it is true that He came to actually SAVE the lost (which is what the Word of God states) and not merely to make an "Offer of Salvation" to those with the inner strength and goodness to accept it (which is what Orthodox Christianity claims to be true), then any man with an eye to see will have to confess that Jesus failed miserably in His Mission. According to the Theology of "Eternal Damnation", those who are the deepest in Sin, those who are the MOST LOST, those who are the Greatest Sinners, are precisely those who ARE NOT found and saved!! Jesus denounced the self righteous Pharisees by reminding them that He DID NOT come for the righteous but for SINNERS. These self-righteous Christians also need this reminder, it would appear. Paul announced that Jesus called and saved him, the WORST of SINNERS, as an example of His (God's) UNLIMITED Grace and Patience. Least you claim that I am merely wresting selected Scriptures out of context to support my claim, let us look further. It seems to have been the peculiar characteristic of the Pharisees to MAJOR in the "Letter of the Law" and to totally overlook the weightier matter of the "Spirit of the Law". Let us as Christians beware that we do not succumb to the SAME TRAP. Take heed lest you allow certain passages to totally overshadow and nullify the Spirit of the ENTIRE BIBLE. I would say that the Entire Theme of the Old Testament could be summed up by this passage from Lamentations 3:31-33, "For men ARE NOT cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show COMPASSION." Surely this knowledge was what kept the Nation of Israel going during their long periods of desolation. They knew that though the Lord God would chastise them severely for their Sin and Rebellion against Him, yet there would come a day when He would tenderly draw them back to Himself again. They knew this because it was His constant message to them through His Prophets!! What then is God's Revelation to men in the New Testament? Is it to be LESS than that of the Old Testament? The Apostle John begins his Letter with the words in verse 1:29, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sins of the WORLD." This is further amplified by Jesus Himself when He proclaims in John 12:31,32, "If I am lifted up, I will draw ALL MEN to Myself." The Apostle Paul has MUCH to say on this theme. In 1Tim. 2:5,6 he testifies that Jesus, "Gave Himself as a Ransom for ALL." In 1Tim. 4:9,10 he states that Jesus, "Is the Savior of ALL men, ESPECIALLY of believers" How, I ask you, can this verse be interpreted to EXCLUDE unbelievers?? The author of the Book of Hebrews adds to this weight of testimony the statement in Heb. 2:9 that, "Jesus tasted death for the sake of EVERYONE." In 1 John 4:14, the Apostle John again reminds us that, "The Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the WORLD." It would appear, at least in MY mind, that if Jesus came with the avowed purpose to SAVE ALL MEN (or the World), then He will SAVE ALL MEN. If He does NOT, I can think of only TWO reasons. The first would be that He and the Father LIED, and that was never really their purpose. The second would be that He and the Father were too WEAK to accomplish their stated purpose. They were overpowered by Satan and Man's Sin, and therefore, they FAILED. Are YOU ready to subscribe to one of these two reasons why untold multitudes of those that the Father sent Jesus to save should ROT FOR "ETERNITY" in the "Flames of Eternal Hell", particularly in light of the fact that it states in 2 Peter 3:9 that God," Is NOT WILLING that ANY should perish??" Three more enlightening scriptures, worthy of "full consideration", are Heb. 9:26, 1 John 2:1,2, and 1 John 3:8. If Jesus, "Appeared to DO AWAY with sin," and His mission was successful, how then can SIN multiply and fester unto "ALL ETERNITY" in the "Pit of HELL"? Secondly, if Jesus is REALLY, "The Propitiation .... for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD," how is it that most of this WORLD will have to pay the price for their sins themselves for "Eternity in Hell"?? Now this word "Propitiation" is an interesting religious word. It is rendered in the OT by the expression "Mercy Seat". This was the place where, once a year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial lamb as a covering (or forgiveness) for the sins of the people of Israel. Take note -- if you were a member of the Nation of Israel, you did not need to do anything for your sins to be covered. God accepted the work of the High Priest and of the Blood on your behalf. It says in the verse under scrutiny that the High Priest, Jesus Christ, sprinkled HIS Blood for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. The word Propitiation is also defined to mean "an APPEASING sacrifice unto God". If, therefore, God has been appeased (or reconciled) toward the WHOLE World, why does He insist upon "pouring out His wrath and fury upon those in 'Hell' (and for 'Eternity' no less)??" Another very revealing "Type and Shadow" from the Old Testament is the concept of the "Kinsman Redeemer" and the "Year of Jubilee". It seems God provided that, if an Israelite should, due to unfortunate circumstances, be forced to sell himself as a slave or servant, he could be redeemed by a relative. Should this NOT occur, in the "Year of Jubilee" (every 50th year) ALL Israelite slaves and/or servants would be set free and most property would return to its ORIGINAL owner. Could we not, if we have "Eyes to see", detect a ready parallel here regarding God's dealings with ALL Mankind through His ultimate "Kinsman Redeemer", Jesus Christ??? For our third point, let us examine John's statement that, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to DESTROY the "Works of the Devil". Surely the Devil's work can HARDLY be destroyed when he is allowed to gloat for eternity over the millions upon millions of God's miserable creatures that he has succeeded in seducing away from their Father, and subjected to unimaginable torment in the "Flames of Eternal Hell". The last group of scriptures that we are going to explore relate to what might be called, "God's Ultimate Intention or Purpose". They may be found in Acts 3:21, Romans 14:11, 1Cor. 15:28, 2Cor. 5:18,19, Eph. 1:9,10, Philp. 2:9-11, and Col. 1:19,20. These scriptures reveal to us the glorious intent of God's Heart, which is that, in the Grand Consummation, when all of His plan has been completely fulfilled, He will restore EVERYTHING into harmony with Himself. ALL of Creation, ALL lost Creatures (Man included), ALL things in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth will be reconciled again to their Creator. It was the Father's Good Pleasure that through His Most Beloved Son, Jesus, as the ONLY Mediator, that ALL THINGS should finally be brought together under ONE HEAD, the Father!!!! Then and ONLY then shall the Father's Heart be satisfied, when He shall finally be ALL in ALL of his Creation. Not only will the Father's Heart be finally filled, but HIS Universe will enter into the JOY for which it was created, and at long last EVERY KNEE will bow ... to the Glory of the Father. To this I say, "Amen and Amen, Come SOON Lord Jesus!!!" I have one closing point to make. So pervasive and ingrained is the need to twist the clear declaration of these scriptures, that varied and many ploys have been attempted. One of these is to make Romans 14:11 and Philp 2:9-11 imply a FORCED subjection of God's enemies to His imposed rule. A moment's research and consideration of these two verses will soon expel that notion. First off, the word rendered "Confess" is Strong's # 1843, which is also used in passages where the meaning is to "praise or thank". Enemies subjected by brute force are HIGHLY unlikely to "Thank or Praise" their subjector, even if He is God. Regardless of WHAT warped opinions men have come up with, beings in "Hell" are even LESS likely to be doing much "Thanking or Praising". Also, exactly where is the "Glory to the Father" from the fact that the vast majority of His precious creation has been lost to despair and destruction, His power and His Wisdom not being sufficient to save them??? What I have endeavored to present to you in the foregoing pages has been nothing less than the CLEAR, UNQUESTIONABLE assertions of God's Word. Yes, it IS true that there are passages in our revered "Authorized Bible" and other translations which SEEM to allege doctrines that would contradict much of what I have said. Granting that these are faithfully rendered according to the Greek and Hebrew (which most of them ARE NOT), my closing question to you will simply be this, "What will you do with the truths and passages which have been brought to your attention??" They CAN NOT simply be cut out of your Bible and discarded!! Will you at least consider the POSSIBILITY that there is something wrong (or at least lacking) in the Orthodox view of God, His relationship to us as His Creation, and what is commonly taught about God's "Judgment, Hell, and Eternal Damnation"?? Jesus made one of the saddest observations regarding the Jews of His day when He exclaimed, "Seeing, they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear." What He was saying was that their Pride, their Hardness of Heart, their obstinacy in the Religious Doctrines of Men, and their SIN had made their hearts and minds so Blind and Deaf that they COULD NOT, they WOULD NOT recognize and honor Him as their long awaited Messiah. It can only be concluded by careful observation of the facts that this same Blindness, this same "Veil of Moses", rests upon the majority of Christendom today.
CHAPTER TEN ****** "The Holiness of God", by R.C. Sproul I recently came across a classic case of this Mysterious Malady in a book that I just finished reading. It is entitled "The Holiness of God", by RC Sproul. Right up until the last chapter, the author was doing a superb job of expounding upon what is meant by "the Holiness of God" and of the Biblical call for us as Christians to be "Holy, for He is Holy". In fact, on the back flap, Chuck Colson, author of "Loving God", referred to Mr. Sproul as, "One of the most Brilliant Thinkers of our day". As he entered into the last chapter, something must have gone astray within his thinking processes. He begins with loud applause for an early American preacher named Jonathan Edwards and perhaps his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". It is probably best to allow you to draw your own conclusions about this sermon, so I am reproducing a small portion of it following. You might also draw your own conclusions about the state of a great deal of Evangelical Christianity by the Standing Ovation that they seem to insist upon rendering to Mr. Edwards and his sermon. Note: This is a portion of the sermon by Jonathan Edwards: "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like fire. He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire. He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in His sight. You are ten thousand times more abominable in His eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended Him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince. Yet, it is nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you were suffered to wake again in this world after you closed your eyes to sleep. There is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the House of God, provoking His pure Eyes by your sinful, wicked manner of attending His solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell. O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in! It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder. You have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. . . .Your wickedness makes you, as it were, heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell. If God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf. Your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock." Note: This section is a comment by Mr. Sproul: "In the application section of the sermon, Edwards places great stress on the nature and severity of God's wrath. Central to his thinking is the clear notion that a holy God must also be a wrathful God. He lists several key points about the wrath of God that we dare not overlook. 1. Whose wrath it is. The wrath of which Edwards preached was the wrath of an infinite God. He contrasts God's wrath with the anger of men or the wrath of a king for his subject. Human wrath eventually concludes. It has an ending point. It is limited. God's wrath can go on forever. 2. The fierceness of God's wrath. The Bible repeatedly likens God's wrath to a winepress of fierceness. In hell, there is no moderation or mercy given. God's anger is not mere annoyance or a mild displeasure. It is a consuming rage against the unrepentant. 3. It is an everlasting wrath. There is no end to the anger of God directed against those in hell. If we have any compassion for our fellowmen, we would wail at the thought of a single one of them falling into the pit of hell. We could not stand to hear the cries of the damned for five seconds. To be exposed to God's fury for a moment would be more than we could bear. To contemplate it for eternity is too awful to consider." Now Mr. Sproul, as I was able to deduce from his writing, tends to be a Calvinist, or a professor in the predestination of man by a Sovereign God. As to this point, VERY GOOD, for I have made it quite clear that I see God as being Totally Sovereign, governing ALL THINGS according to the Council of HIS WILL alone!! Hold this fact in your mind for a moment -- I shall return to it shortly. Mark also that the theme of his book pertained to the absolute Justice, Love, Wisdom, and Judgment of God, as entailed by His Holiness. The point at which I began to notice that there was indeed something discordant about Mr. Sproul's thinking was where he could see NO DIFFICULTY with reconciling a Being of these qualities and possessing TOTAL, UNASSAILABLE POWER over against what he was applauding in Jonathan Edwards sermon!! In the event that you see NO contradiction either, allow me to explain to you my observations. These not only outline the Calvinistic precepts put forth by Mr. Sproul but, to a large part, the "thinking" of mainline Christianity. What I especially wish you to note in the following, however, is not so much MERELY the precepts themselves, but what is more important, the CONCLUSIONS that MUST follow if you truly BELIEVE these precepts: 1. God is a Sovereign, HOLY God. He is self-defining, self-actuating, self-governing, self-determining. He answers to NO power outside Himself and confers with NO Council other than Himself. Absolute power is contained within Him and Him ALONE, and there is NO other independent power outside of Him. 2. He is a God of perfect Love, perfect Justice, perfect Mercy, perfect Understanding, perfect Judgment, in who is "No Shadow of Turning", NO possibility of error or of Failing. In other words, He is Perfectly HOLY, or set apart TOTALLY from ALL else in the universe. 3. He has created ALL universes and ALL creatures (including MAN) according to His Plan, purely toward the end of fulfilling His Purpose and displaying His Glory. ALL His Ways and ALL His Acts and ALL of His Purposes are Perfect and Flawless. 4. There currently exists a gap between this HOLY God and fallen, sinful Man, which, on his own, NO MAN CAN BRIDGE. Hence we find that Jesus alone is this bridge. Furthermore, according to Mr. Sproul on pages 232,233 (and according to the Bible, I might add), fallen, alienated man has NO desire to seek after God, absolutely HATES God, and possess NO power to see, discern, or understand the things of the Spirit. Therefore, as Jesus Himself asserted, "NO man comes to Me (Jesus) UNLESS the Father draws him." From these precepts, being the clear declarations of God's Word, the following four conclusions logically and truly follow: 1. God created the Universe, Man, and all else contained within it according to His perfect Plan, exactly as He wished it to be. 2. God empowered both Satan and Man to be exactly as they are to be found today, within the perfect wisdom of His Plan and Intention, and under His perfect control. 3. Man does NOT choose to come into this world as a sinner and as an enemy of God. This is his lot at birth, and he must live and act under a curse NOT of his own making. Man is TOTALLY impotent to save himself or to even avail himself of the salvation wrought for him in Jesus Christ. Unless God reaches out His Hand of Grace and draws a man to Himself, and places in his being the Light and Power to respond to what has been made available to him, he is HOPELESSLY Lost and Damned. 4. This being the case, then God must do this for EVERY MAN, or NO MAN can be saved!!!!! At this point, however, we must say with Shakespeare, "Herein lies the rub!" If you are an honest and sincere man or woman, and are ready to carry the above logic to its ONLY reasonable conclusion, then according to Orthodox Christianity and Mr. Sproul, the following statement MUST DEFINE the outcome: 5. God DOES NOT do this for every man (or so say the Scribes of Orthodox Christianity). Therefore, it is God Himself who decrees that SOME men might be saved and that OTHER men might be damned. Thus said Calvin and his followers, if I understand correctly. If this is what YOU say, then I say that you DO NOT worship the GREAT "I AM" of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. NO!! I say that you worship one of the idolatrous demons of the Canaanites, who "I AM" said to destroy. These demons more resembled the "god" who Jonathan Edwards so delighted in, one who, "Holds you over the pit of Hell as one holds a spider, who abhors you, who looks upon you as a loathsome insect, and deems you worthy of nothing else but to be CAST INTO THE FIRE." My friend, if this is the "god" whom you profess, and represent as his ambassador, may your ultimate wishes be fulfilled by Him upon yourself !!
CHAPTER ELEVEN ****** "Calvin and Election", by Dr. C.D. Cole Another stunning example of this myopic spiritual blindness that the distorted doctrine of "Eternal Damnation" forces upon those who must twist not only the Holy Scripture, but their own reason, logic, intellect, and conscience to uphold it, may be clearly seen in an excellent tract by Dr. C. D. Cole, entitled, "The Bible Doctrine of Election". Here is a brilliant, biblical discourse from the Baptist Perspective on "Election vs. Free Will -- Calvinism vs. Arminianism". The article is worthy of careful reading and analysis. Many of the arguments and scriptural defenses that are presented in defense of the Doctrine of Election are EXACTLY the same ones that are presented in defense of the Doctrine of Universal Reconciliation. As one reads it, he sits in eager anticipation, awaiting that final spark of divine revelation that will burn away the veil of religious blindness and prejudice from the author's eyes, opening to his vision the door into that world where finally God will REALLY be "ALL in ALL of His Creatures". The author opens his expose with the statement, "Election means that the destiny of men is in the hands of God." He then continues with a brilliant defense of the doctrine of the ABSOLUTE Sovereignty of God, HIS Purpose, HIS Will, HIS Electing Grace, and the ABSOLUTE lostness, helplessness, and hopelessness of man. After filling us with such expectation, he ends with this Sparkling Conclusion, "Those who go to Hell will have nobody to blame but THEMSELVES!!!" What Religious Rot! What Doctrinal Dribble! What Theological Trash! Here the author builds a profound case proving that man's birth, life, and death are TOTALLY in the hands of a Supreme, Sovereign God, and he then turns around in conclusion and offers this obtuse sacrifice of Hypocritical Holiness to the God of Orthodox Doctrinal Correctness. I have reproduced the text of this article below for your reading pleasure and consideration. General Remarks to Disarm Prejudice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is no doctrine so grossly misrepresented. Brother A.S. Pettie's complaint against the enemies of total depravity is equally applicable here, when he says, "From hostile lips a fair and correct statement of the doctrine is never heard". The treatment that the doctrine of election receives from the hands of its enemies is very much like that received by the primitive Christians from pagan Roman Emperors. The ancient Christians were often clothed in the skins of slain animals and then subjected to attack by ferocious wild beasts. So the doctrine of election is clothed in an ugly garb and held up to ridicule and sport. We will now try to strip this glorious truth of its false and vicious garment with which enemy hands have robed it, and put upon it the garments of holiness and wisdom. 1. Election is not salvation, but is unto salvation. "What then? Israel has not obtained that which she seeks for; but the election (elect) has obtained it, and the rest were blinded" (Rom 11:7). "God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation" (2Thes 2:13). Now then, if the elect obtain salvation, and if election is to salvation, election must precede salvation. Men are saved when they believe on Christ, not when they are elected. Roosevelt was not president when he was elected, but when he was inaugurated. There was not only an election to, but an induction into the office. God's elect are inducted into the position of saint ship by the effectual call, (the quickening work of the Holy Spirit) through which they become believers in the Gospel. See: # 1Cor 1:29 2Thes 2:13,14 2. Election is not the cause of anybody going to hell, for election is unto salvation. Neither is non-election responsible for the damnation of sinners. SIN is the thing that sends men to hell, and all men are sinners by nature and practice -- sinners altogether apart from election and non-election. It does not follow that because election is unto salvation, that non-election is unto damnation. SIN is the damning element in human life. ELECTION HARMS NOBODY. 3. Election belongs to the system of grace. In Paul's day, there was a remnant among the Jews who were saved according to the election of grace (Rom. 11:5). The attitude of men towards election is the acid test of their belief in grace. Those who oppose election cannot consistently claim to believe in salvation by grace. This is seen in the creeds of Christendom. Those denominations that believe in salvation by works have no place for the doctrine of election in their confessions of faith; those that believe in salvation by grace, apart from human merit, have not failed to include election in their written creed. One group is headed by the Roman Catholics, the other is headed by the Baptists. 4. Election does not prevent the salvation of anybody who wants to be saved. The distinction, however, needs to be made between a mere desire to escape hell and the desire to be saved from sin. The desire to be saved from hell is a natural desire -- nobody wants to burn. The desire to be saved from sin is a spiritual desire resulting from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, and God's electing grace is the very mother of this desire. To represent election by saying that God has spread the Gospel feast, and a man comes to the table hungering for the bread of life; but God says "No, this is not for you, you are not one of my elect," is to misrepresent the Holy Doctrine. Here is the truth -- God has spread the feast, but the fact is nobody wants to come to the table. "They all with one consent began to make excuse." God knew just how fallen nature would act, and He took no chance on His table being filled, so, He tells His servant to go out and compel them to come (Luke 14:23). Were it not for the redemptive work of Christ, there would be no Gospel feast; were it not for the compelling work of the Holy Spirit, there would be no guests at the table. A mere invitation brings nobody to the table. 5. Election means that the destiny of men is in the hands of God. Many of us have regarded as an axiom the statement that every man's destiny is in his own hands. This, however, is to deny the whole tenor of Scripture. At no time is the destiny of the saint in his own hands, either before or after he is saved. Was my destiny in my own hands before I was saved? If so, I regenerated myself; I resurrected, by my own power, myself out of a state of sin and death; I am my own benefactor and have nobody to thank but myself for being alive and saved. Perish such a thought! By the grace of God I am what I am. # John 1:13 Eph 2:1-10 2Tim 1:9 Jas 1:18 Is my destiny in my own hands now? Then I will either keep myself saved or I will lose my salvation. The Bible says we are kept by the power of God through Faith. # 1Peter 1:15 Psalms 37:28 John 10:27-29 Php 1:6 Heb 13:5 If my destiny is not safe in my own hands after I am saved, then how could it be thought to be safe in my own hands before my conversion? The saint dies, his body is consigned to the grave and becomes a dust-heap. Is his destiny in his own hands then? If so, what hope has he of ever coming out of the grave with an immortal and incorruptible body? None at all if his destiny is in his own hands. Such a theory, that the destiny of the saint is or ever has been in his own hands, reverses the very laws of nature and implies that water can rise above the level of its source; that man can lift himself into the attic by his bootstraps; that the Ethiopian can change his color, and the leopard can remove his spots; that death can beget life; that evolution is true and God is a liar. The theory that one's destiny is in his own hands begets self-confidence and self-righteousness; the belief that destiny is in the hands of God begets SELF-ABNEGATION AND FAITH IN GOD. 6. Election stands or falls with the doctrine of God's sovereignty and man's depravity. If God is sovereign and man is depraved, then it follows as a natural consequence that some will be saved, none will be saved, or all will be saved. The practical results of election are that some, yes many, will be saved. Election is not a plan to save a mere handful of folk. Christ gave Himself a ransom for many. # Math 20:28 Rev 5:9 God's sovereignty involves His pleasure # John 5:21 Math 11:25-27 His power # Job 23:13 Jer 32:17 Math 19:26 and His mercy. # Rom 9:18 7. The elect are manifested in repentance and faith and good works. These graces, being God-wrought in man, are not the cause but the evidences of election. # 1Thes 1:3-10 2Peter 1:5-10 Php 2:12,13 Luke 18:7 The man who doesn't pray, who has not repented of his sins and trusted Christ, and who does not engage in good works has no right to claim that he is one of God's elect. Some False Views Examined and Refuted ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many professing Christians really have no view of election. They have not given it enough thought and study to even have any opinion about it. Many have erroneous views. We shall notice some of them. 1. The view that men are elected when they believe -- This view is easily refuted for it is contrary to both common sense and Scripture. Election is to salvation, and therefore, must precede salvation. It is nonsense to talk about electing a man to something he already has. The man has salvation when he believes and hence election at that point would not be necessary. ELECTION TOOK PLACE IN ETERNITY; SALVATION TAKES PLACE WHEN THE SINNER BELIEVES. 2. The view that election pertains only to the Jews -- This view robs Gentiles of the comfort of Rom 8:28-39. # Rom 8:28-29 Moreover, Paul, who was an apostle to the Gentiles, says that he endured all things for the elect's sake, that they might obtain salvation. # 2Tim 2:10 3. The view that election took place in eternity, but that it was in view of foreseen repentance and faith. According to this view, God, in eternity, looked down through the ages and saw who would repent and believe, and those whom He foresaw would repent and believe were elected to salvation. This view is correct in only one point, namely, that election took place in eternity. It is wrong in that it makes the ground of election to be something in the sinner rather than something in God. Read Eph 1:4-6, where election and predestination are said to be "According to the good pleasure of His will" and "To the praise of the glory of His grace." # Eph 1:4-6 This view, thought the popular one with the majority of Baptists today, is open to many objections. (I) It denies what the Bible says about man's condition by nature. The Bible does not describe the natural man as having faith. # 1Cor 2:14 John 3:3 Both repentance and faith are gifts of God, and God did not see these graces in any sinner apart from His purpose to give them. "Him has God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins," Acts 5:31 "When they heard these things they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, 'Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life'", Acts 11:18. "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God perhaps will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth" 2Tim 2:25. See also: # Eph 2:8-10 1Co 3:5 Election was not because of foreseen faith, but because of foreseen unbelief. It is not the election of God's faithful ones, but the faith of God's elect, if we are to keep Scriptural words. # Titus 1:1 (ii) It makes the human race differ by nature, whereas the Bible says we are all by nature children of wrath and all clay of the same lump. # Eph 2:3 Rom 9:21 Men are made to differ in the new birth.# John 3:6 (iii) It perverts the Scriptural meaning of the word "foreknowledge". The word as used in the Bible means more than foreknowledge ABOUT persons, it is the foreknowledge OF persons. In Rom 8:29,30, the fore known are predestined to the image of Christ, and are called, justified and glorified. In 1Peter 1:2, the word for "foreknowledge" is the same as "foreordain" in the twentieth verse of the same chapter, where the meaning cannot be "foreknowledge" about Christ. God's foreknowledge ABOUT persons is without limitations; whereas, His foreknowledge OF persons is limited to those who are actually saved and glorified. (iv) It is open to the strongest objection that can be made against the Bible view. It is often asked, "If certain men are elected and saved, then what is the use to preach to those who are not elected?" With equal propriety we might ask, "If God knows who is going to repent and believe, then why preach to those who according to His foreknowledge, will not repent and believe?" Will some repent and believe whom He fore knew would not repent and believe? If so, He fore knew a lie. Right here is the weakness of much of modern missions. It is based upon sympathy for the lost rather than obedience to God's command. The inspiration of missions is made to rest upon the practical results of missionary endeavor rather than upon the delight of doing God's will. It is the principle of doing a thing because the results are satisfactory to us. If we are faithful, God is as pleased with our efforts as when there are no results. Ponder: # 2Cor 2:15,16 The elect prior to their conversion are known only to God. We are to preach the gospel to every creature because He has commanded it. He will take care of the results. Compare with: # Isaiah 55:11 1Cor 3:5,6 John 6:37-45 It is ours to witness; it is His to make our witnessing effective. The Doctrine Defined, Explained and Proved ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What is election as the term is used in the Bible? Election means a choice; to select from among; to single out; to take one and leave another. If there are a dozen apples in a basket and I take all of them, there has been no choice; but if I take seven and leave five, there has been a choice. Election, as taught in the Bible, means that God has made a choice from among the children of men. In the beginning, God set His choice upon certain individuals, whom He gave to His Son, and for whom Christ died as their substitute, who in time hear the Gospel and believe in Christ to life everlasting. Let us amplify by raising three very pertinent questions. 1. WHO DOES THE ELECTING? Who chooses the persons to be saved? If men are chosen to salvation, as the Scriptures affirm, who does the choosing? There must be a selection or universalism. The language of Scripture seems peculiarly definite in reply to this question. Mark 13:20 speaks of the ELECT, whom He ELECTED, rendered in our version, "The elect's sake whom He has chosen". The word election is associated with God, not with man. God is the CHOICER, His people are the CHOSEN, and grace is the source. The theology, that God votes for us, the Devil votes against us, and that we cast the deciding ballot is entirely outside the scope of Scripture teaching, and is almost too ridiculous to notice. # John 15:16 2Thes 2:13 Eph 1:4 2. WHEN WAS THE ELECTING DONE? For the answer we are shut up to the Scriptures. The BIBLE, however, answers with sunlight clearness. In Eph 1:4 we read that "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." The expression, "Before the foundation of the world ," is found in John 17:24, where it speaks of the Father's eternal love for the Son, and in 1Pe 1:20, where it refers to the eternal determination of the Divine mind concerning the death of Christ. There are many similar expressions. ELECTION IS ETERNAL! # Rev 13:8 2Thes 2:13 2Tim 1:9 3. WHY WAS THE ELECTING DONE? Was it on the ground of something good in the sinner? Then nobody would have been elected, for there is none good. Holiness is not the cause, but the effect of election. We are chosen that we should be holy, not because we are holy (Eph 1:4). Nor, as we have already seen, is election in view of foreseen repentance and faith. Election is the cause of repentance and faith and not the effect of these graces. To say that God chose men to salvation because He foresaw that they would repent and believe and be saved is to attribute foolishness to the infinitely wise God. It is as if the president should issue a decree that the sun must rise tomorrow because he foresees that it will rise; or as if a sculptor should choose a certain piece of marble because he foresaw that it would make itself into the image he wanted. We challenge any Arminian to raise these questions and get his answers from the Scriptures. Objections Considered and Answered ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many are the objections brought against this doctrine. Sometimes the objectors are loud and furious. Alas! That so many of these objectors are in Baptist ranks. To preach this old-fashioned doctrine of our faith as did Bunyan, Fuller, Gill, Spurgeon, Boyce, Broadus, Pendleton, Graves, Jarrell, Carroll, Jeter, Boyce Taylor and a host of other representative men of our denomination is to court the bitterest kind of opposition. John Wesley himself never said harsher words against this blessed tenet of our faith than do some so-called Baptists of today. Arminianism, that offspring of popery, has had an abnormal growth in the last decade or two as the adopted child of a large group of Baptists. 1. IT IS OBJECTED THAT OUR VIEW OF ELECTION LIMITS GOD'S MERCY. Right here we criticize the critic, for he who makes this objection limits both God's mercy and power. He admits that God's mercy is limited to the believer, and to this we agree; but he denies that God can cause a man to believe without doing violence to the man's will, and thus he limits God's power. We believe that God is able to give a man a sound mind (2Tim 1:7) and make him willing in the day of His power. (Psalm 110:2) At this point we must face two self-evident propositions. First, if God is trying to save every member of Adam's fallen race, and does not succeed, then His power is diminished and He is not the Lord God Almighty. Second, if He is not trying to save every member of the fallen face, then His mercy is limited. We must limit His mercy or His power, or go over boots and baggage to the Universalist's position. Before we do that, let us go "to the law and to the testimony", which says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion... Therefore has He mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom He will He hardens" (Rom 9:15-18). It needs to be said for the comfort and hope of great sinners, that God's mercy is not limited by the natural condition of the sinner. All sinners are dead until God makes them alive. He is able to take away the heart of stone. No man is too great a sinner to be saved. We can pray for the salvation of the chief of sinners with the assurance that God can save them if He will. "The King's heart is in the hands of the Lord as the river of water; He turns it whithersoever He will" (Prov 21:1). We rejoice to say with Jeremiah that there is nothing too hard for God. We can pray for the salvation of our loved ones with the feeling of the leper, when he said, "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean" (Math 8:2). When Robert Morrison was about to go to China, he was asked by an incredulous American if he thought he could make any impression on those Chinese. His curt reply was, "No, but I think God can." This should ever be our confidence and hope when we stand before sinners and preach to them "CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED". 2. ANOTHER OBJECTION TO ELECTION IS THAT IT MAKES GOD UNJUST. This objection betrays a bad heart. It would obligate the CREATOR to the CREATURE. It makes salvation a divine obligation. It denies the right of the potter over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. Using this reasoning, it makes the governor of a sovereign state unjust when he pardons one or more men, unless he empties the prison and turns all the prisoners loose. Our view of election is in harmony with what even the Armenians allow to be proper and just for a human governor. All can see that a governor, by pardoning some men, does not harm others, who are not pardoned. Those who are not pardoned are not in prison because the governor refused them a pardon, but because they were guilty of a crime against the state. Isn't God to be allowed as much sovereignty as the governor of a state? Salvation, like a pardon, is something that is not deserved. If it were deserved, then God would be unjust if He did not bestow it upon all men. Salvation is not a matter of justice, but of mercy. It wasn't the attribute of justice that led God to provide salvation, but the attribute of mercy. Justice is simply each man getting what he deserves. Those who go to hell will have nobody to blame but themselves, while those who go to heaven will have nobody to praise but God. # Ro 9:22,23 3. IT IS AGAIN OBJECTED THAT OUR VIEW OF ELECTION IS AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF WHOSOEVER WILL. However, the objector is wrong again. Our view explains and supports the doctrine of "WHOSOEVER WILL". Without election, the invitation to "WHOSOEVER WILL" would go unheeded. The Bible doctrine of "WHOSOEVER WILL" does not imply the freedom or ability of the human will to do good. The human will is free, but its freedom is within the limits of fallen human nature. It is free like water; water is free to run down hill. It is free like the vulture; the vulture is free to eat carrion, for that is its nature, but it would starve to death in a wheat field. It is not the buzzard's nature to eat clean food; it feeds upon the carcasses of the dead. So sinners starve to death in the presence of the bread of life. Our Lord said to some sinners, who were in His very presence, "You will not come unto me that you might have life" (John 5:40). It is not natural for a sinner to trust in Christ. Salvation through trust in a crucified Christ is a stumbling block to the Jew and foolishness to the Greek; it is only the called, both Jews and Greeks, who trust it as the wisdom and power of God. # 1Co 1:23,24 Here is a physical corpse. Is it free to get up and walk around? In one sense, yes. It is not bound by fetters. There is no external restraint. In another sense, however, that corpse is not free. It is hindered by its natural condition. It is its nature to decompose and go back to dust. It is not the nature of death to stir about. Here is a spiritual corpse -- a man dead in trespasses and sins. Is the man free to repent and believe and do good works? Yes, in one sense. There are no external restraints. God does not prevent but offers inducements through His Holy Word. The corpse is hindered by its own nature. There must be the miracle of the new birth, for except a man be born from above he cannot see or enter into the Kingdom of God. # Joh 3:3-3:5 It is painful to some of us to see our brethren forsake the faith of our Baptist forbears at this point and join the ranks of the Roman Catholics and other Armenians. If anyone doubts this charge, let him read the article of faith adopted by the Catholics at the Council of Trent (1563). I quote their statement on the freedom of the human will -- "If anyone shall affirm that since the fall of Adam man's freewill is lost, let him be accursed." Alas, in this day, such a spirit is not confined to the Roman Catholics. Horatius Bonar makes the following quotation from John Calvin: "The Papist theologians have a distinction current among themselves -- that God does not elect men according to their works which are in them, but rather as He foresees that they will be believers." Ah, the real trouble with the objector is not election; it is something else. His real objection is to total depravity or human inability to do good. I can do no better here than to quote from Percy W. Heward of London, England. He says, "It seems to me that the majority of objections to God's sovereign grace, to God's electing love, are actually objections to something else, namely objections to the fact that man is ruined. If you probe beneath the surface, you will find that very few object to election. Why should they? Election harms no one. How can the picking of a man out of doom harm anyone else? The real objection at the present day is not to election, though that word is made the catchword of sad controversy -- the real objection is to that fact which is revealed in Psalm 51, that we are formed in iniquity, that we are born sinners by nature, dead in sins, until, as we read concerning Paul in Galatians 1, "It pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me..." Ah, beloved friends, we deserve nothing but doom. Acknowledge this and election is the only hope. Acknowledge that we are poor lost sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, only evil continually. Acknowledge that there is in man no natural spark to be fanned into a flame, but that believers are born again of incorruptible seed which the Lord places. Acknowledge that if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation, for we are His workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus; and election must be at once recognized." Every real believer on his knees subscribes to our view of election. You cannot pray ascribing some credit to self. Sovereign grace will come out in prayer though it may be left off the platform. No saved man will get down on his knees before God and claim that he made himself to differ from others who are not saved, but with Paul he says, "By the grace of God I am what I am." In praying for the lost, we supplicate God to convict and convert them. We do not depend upon the freedom of their wills, but beg God to make them willing to come to Christ, knowing that when they come to Christ He will not cast them out. # John 6:37 A Methodist minister once went to hear a Presbyterian minister preach. After the sermon, the Methodist said to the Presbyterian, "That was a pretty good Arminian sermon you preached today." "Yes," replied the Presbyterian, "We Presbyterians are pretty good Arminians when we preach and you Methodists are pretty good Calvinists when you pray." MORE TRUTH THAN POETRY HERE!! 4. IT IS ALSO OBJECTED THAT OUR VIEW OF ELECTION IS A NEW DOCTRINE AMONG MISSIONARY BAPTISTS. The fact is that it is so old-fashioned that it has about gone out of fashion. The ignorance betrayed in such a claim is indeed pitiable. In refutation, we resort to two sources of information (a) Confessions of faith; (b) Statements of representative preachers and writers. (a) CONFESSIONS OF FAITH The Waldenses declare themselves as follows: "God saves from corruption and damnation those whom He has chosen from the foundation of the world, not from any disposition, faith or holiness that He foresaw in them, but His mere mercy in Christ Jesus His Son, passing by all the rest according to the inscrutable reason of His own freewill and justice." THE DATE OF THIS CONFESSION WAS 1120!!! The London Confession (1689) and the Philadelphia Confession (1742) read as follows: "By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestined or foreordained to ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ, to the praise of His glorious grace; others being left to act in their sins to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice." The New Hampshire Confession (Article 9): "We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies and saves sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free-agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the end; that it is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise holy and unchangeable; that it utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of His free mercy; that it encourages the use of means in the highest degree; that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the Gospel; that it is the foundation of Christian assurance; and that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence." (b) REPRESENTATIVE PREACHERS AND WRITERS! John A. Broadus, former president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: "From the divine side, the Scriptures teach an eternal election of men to eternal life simply out of God's good pleasure." A.H. Strong, former president of Rochester Theological Seminary: "Election is the eternal act of God, by which in His sovereign pleasure, and as a result of no foreseen merit in them, He chooses certain of the number of sinful men to be recipients of the special grace of His Spirit and so to be made voluntary partakers of Christ's salvation." B.H. Carroll, founder and first president of the Southwestern Baptist Seminary: "Every one that God chose in Christ is drawn by the Spirit to Christ. Every one predestined is called by the Spirit in time and justified in time, and will be glorified when the Lord comes." Commentary on Romans, page 192. J.P. Boyce, founder and first president of Southern Baptist Seminary: "God, of His own purpose, has from eternity determined to save a definite number of mankind as individuals, not for or because of any merit or works of theirs, nor of any value of them to Him; but of His own good pleasure." W.T. Conner, professor of theology, Southwestern Baptist Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas: "The doctrine of election means that God saves in pursuance of an eternal purpose. This includes all the gospel influences, work of the Spirit and so on, that leads a man to repent of his sins and accept Christ. So far as man's freedom is concerned, the doctrine of election does not mean that God decrees to save a man irrespective of his will. It rather means that God purposes to lead a man in such a way that he will freely accept the gospel and be saved." Pastor J.W. Lee, of Batesville, Miss.: "I believe that God has foreordained before the foundation of the world that He would save certain individuals and that He ordained all the means to bring about their salvation on His terms. Men and women are not elected because they repent and believe, but they repent and believe because they are elected." To the above list of well known and honored Baptists, we could add quotations from Gill, Fuller, Spurgeon, Bunyan, Pendleton, Mullins, Dargan, Jeter, Eaton, Graves, and others too numerous to mention. It is sadly true that many of our pastors hold election as a private opinion and never preach it. We personally know a number of brethren who say that election is clearly taught in the Bible, but that we cannot afford to preach it, because it will cause trouble in churches. This is worse than compromise: it is surrender of the truth. It is a spirit that leads preachers to displease God to please men. This writer believes that silence upon this subject has produced more harm than open opposition to it. Those who openly oppose election will, eventually, make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of all Bible loving Baptists. 5. IT IS FURTHER OBJECTED THAT OUR VIEW OF ELECTION MAKES MEN CARELESS IN THEIR LIVING. It is said that belief in the doctrine leads men to say, "If I am elect, I will be saved; if I am a non-elect I will be lost, therefore, it matters not what I believe or do." The same objection has been persistently made against the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. This is bald rationalism. It is the setting of human reason against divine revelation. It takes no account of the operation of the grace of God in the human heart. If Baptists surrender election on such a ground, to be consistent, they will have to surrender the doctrine of preservation on the same ground. Election does not mean that the elect will be saved whether they believe on not, nor does it mean that the non-elect will be damned regardless of how much they may repent and believe. The elect will be saved through repentance and faith, and both are gifts from God as already shown. The non-elect do not repent and believe. The objection we are now considering is simply not true to fact. Believers in election have been and still are among the most godly. Augustus Toplady challenged the world to produce a martyr among the deniers of election. The Puritans, who were so named because of the great purity of their lives, with few exception (if any), were believers in personal, eternal, unconditional election, and of course, in the security of the believer. Modernism, that spawn of the pit, is rapidly adding to the number of its adherents, but they are coming from the ranks of Arminianism. Others have challenged the world to find a single Higher Critic, or a single Spiritualist, or a single Russellite, or a single Christian Scientist, who believes in the absolute sovereignty of God and the doctrine of election. Without an exception, these awful heretics are Arminians to a man. This is a significant fact that is not to be winked at. 6. OBJECTORS CLAIM THAT OUR VIEW OF ELECTION DESTROYS THE SPIRIT OF MISSIONS. They boldly assert that if unconditional election should find universal acceptance among us that we would cease to be a missionary people. There is an abundance of historical evidence with which to refute this claim. Under God, the father of modern missions was William Carey, a staunch Calvinist. Andrew Fuller, first secretary of the society that sent Carey to India, held tenaciously to our view of election. It did not destroy the missionary spirit of these men. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Belief in election did not destroy the missionary spirit in Judson, Spurgeon, Boyce, Eaton, Graves, Carroll and a host of other Baptist leaders. The Murray church, which Dr. J.F. Love called the greatest missionary church on earth, heard election preached by Boyce Taylor for nearly forty years. The greatest missionary churches among us today are those that have been purged from the heresies of James Arminius. Election is the very foundation of hope in missionary endeavor. If we had to depend upon the natural disposition or will of a dead sinner, who hates God, to respond to our gospel, we might well despair. When we realize, however, that it is the Spirit that quickens, we can go forth with the gospel of the grace of God in the hope that God will cause some, by nature turned away, to be turned unto Him and to believe to the saving of the soul. Election does not determine the extent of missions, but the results of it. We are to preach to every creature because God has commanded, and because it pleases Him to save sinners by the foolishness of preaching. W e believe more in election than the Anti-mission Baptists. We believe that God elected means of salvation as well as persons to salvation. He did not choose to save sinners apart from the gospel ministry. # Ro 1:16 Election gives a saneness to evangelism that is greatly needed today. It recognizes that sinners "believe through grace" (Acts 18:27) and that while Paul may plant and Apollos may water, God gives the increase. Arminianism has had its day among Baptists and what has it done? It has given us manpower, but robbed us of God's power. It has increased machinery, but has decreased spirituality. It has filled our churches with Ishmaels instead of Isaacs by its ministry of "sob stuff" and with the methods of the "counting house". If this tract needs further Scriptural support, the following Scriptures will give it: # Psalms 65:4 ** Acts 13:48 ** John 6:37,44,45 ** 17:1,2 #Math 11:25,26 ** 1Cor 12:3 ** 2Cor 10:4  CHAPTER TWELVE *** "Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow" Many years ago there was a popular song by a singer named B.J. Thomas entitled, "There are none so blind as those who WILL NOT see." Another man by the name of William James is credited with saying, "Many people think they are thinking when, in reality, they are merely REARRANGING their Prejudices." If this book merely challenges you to TRULY THINK, to meditate deeply upon that which you "THINK that you think", then regardless of the outcome of your reflections, in my mind it will have been a RESOUNDING SUCCESS!! It has NOT been my intent at any point in this book to purposely offend and/or insult. It HAS been my EXPRESS intent to challenge you to truly THINK upon what you believe in light of what God's Word, the Holy Bible, REALLY says , stripped of man's doctrine, dogma, prejudice, and irrational thinking. I am sure that there is a good and proper place for "Correct Tradition". Paul admonished believers to fashion their lives after the "traditions" that were received from him (2Thes 3:6). Conversely, he warned us not to be despoiled by the "traditions of men" (Col 2:8), just as Jesus repeatedly criticized the Pharisees for preferring the "traditions of men" over and above His Word and the Word of His Father. I will be the first to concede that there is something very comfortable and reassuring about OLD, cherished , time-honored traditions, platitudes, and doctrines, EVEN IF THEY ARE FALSE. It can be a very fearful thing to consider being separated from these "Old Friends" who have given us so much comfort and warm fellowship. Why else does Christendom continue to revere and literally "Worship" the King James Bible, long after it has ceased to be the vernacular of the day and has served its intended purpose, especially when there are so many better translations available today. Jesus indeed said, "You shall know the Truth (Himself), and THIS Truth shall set you free." (John 8:32) He also said, "You search the scriptures, thinking that IN THEM you will find Life, yet you refuse to come to ME of whom they testify." (John 5:39) Again He said, "You make the Word of God of NO EFFECT by your Traditions." (Mark 7:13) John goes on to say that, "Perfect Love CASTS OUT all fear." (1 John 4:18) C.S. Lewis, in his famous book, "Mere |