Restoration

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The will of God vs the will of man

The will of man is a gift given to us by our creator. It is one of the things that makes us like God - in that we have the ability to make choices. It also has been a point of it seems like an everlasting conflict between mankind and worse, between man and God. 

What I would like to do is compare the two wills, how they differ from one another, and how they operate in the area of our salvation.

Man has free will in every area of his life, but tragically because of our sinful nature inherited from Adam and Eve, our will is in bondage to our sin. Herein lies a paradox - we are free to choose, but at the same time, our freedom to choose is hindered because of our inherent wickedness. As a result, the choices we often make are evil. 

Comparing our will against God's will is important because it reveals His perfect will versus our flawed will. God's will is autonomous. What that means is God is sovereign and He can do whatever He wants to do. We may think we can do anything we want, but we know (or should know) by now that will end tragically. Adam and Eve decided way back in the Garden of Eden to do what they wanted and you see how that ended up.

Whatever God decides is just and righteous because He is just and righteous. As someone said, "God doesn't see something as just and does it, rather the thing is just because God does it."

In the area of salvation, who chooses whom? Does man choose God, and in turn God chooses man? Many believe that to be the case. I will argue from scripture that that is not the case. The order is reversed. Man cannot choose God unless God gives man the ability and the willingness to choose Him. 

In Psalm 14:1-3 we read, The fool has said in heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Paul repeats this truth and more in Romans 3:10-18. 

The Bible has just described the lost and hopeless condition of every man born into this world. Mankind is this way because they have chosen to be.

Jesus said it this way, "Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil" (John 3:19).

So, with all, I just mentioned, how can man choose God when man is full of wickedness and loves that wickedness? Remember, we cannot serve two masters. We either will serve God and righteousness, or Satan and unrighteousness. 

I have described the will of man. Now let's turn to the will of God.

As I have said in the past, I must say again God has to choose us first in order for us to choose Him. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4 that we were chosen before the foundation of the world. 2 Timothy 1:9 says we were called before time began.

The Bible makes it clear, we who are the chosen by God were chosen for salvation before He created anything. 

Can those chosen before time began reject God's sovereign choice in time?

This is the heart of the matter. I will try my best answer the question clearly.

Those whom the Father gave to the Son to come and redeem will most assuredly come to saving faith. How do I know this? Because the Bible tells me. Jesus Himself said in John 6:37, "All that the Father gives to me will  (italics mine) come to me, and those that come to me I will never cast out."

So in order for one to come to Christ, that person has to be among the chosen by the Father who gives the chosen to the Son. This was done before time began. Jesus knew along who the chosen were by the time he began his public ministry. He also knew they would believe in Him. 

This is where we run into a problem from a human perspective. If God has already predetermined that certain people would believe in Jesus before they are even born, how is their choice a real choice?

Just because God chooses us for salvation does not invalidate our choice being real. God must overcome the stubborn of resistance man, activate his freedom so that he chooses God and be saved. God must supersede the evil will of man and empower us by His benevolent omnipotent will so that we will be willing to make the right choice in choosing Him. If God does not lovingly intrude in our lives in this way, we will never come to saving faith. Why? Because natural man is a dead man spiritually (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). He must be born again (John 3:3) in order to see the kingdom of God and enter it. 

Many will object to this line of reasoning and say that God is dragging people into the kingdom of God "kicking and screaming! He is violating their will!" 

God has never violated the will of man and He never will. If man is left to himself to believe, then he never will. Without God's power enabling him to come to Christ, he can't come. (John 6:44, 65). That is why it is essential that God is proactive in choosing man instead of reactive. In God being the aggressor in salvation, He gives the chosen the willingness, the desire and ability to repent and believe in Christ through the gospel message and be saved. This ensures that God's plan of redemption is successful and Christ's humiliating death on the cross and shed blood was not in vain. 

Those chosen by God will not reject the choosing of God because it is the will of God they believe in time because they were chosen before time. God's love shed abroad in our hearts will ultimately be too irresistible to refuse (Rom 5:5). This love will bring the chosen sinner to the point of brokenness and contrition of their sins. They will genuinely repent. Although man's sin is great (negatively), God's grace is greater (Rom 5:20).

Hopefully, the reader understands now why the will of God in salvation is the way it is. We will not on our own incline ourselves from unbelief to belief when we hear the gospel message. If we could, we would boast about it and God would not get the glory for saving us. God has made it clear that He will not share His glory with anyone (Isa 48:11; Acts 12:21-23).

Once again, we choose God because He chooses us first. Although some may argue and say that our choice of God is invalid because we are chosen for salvation before the foundation of the world, does not mean our choice is not real because the Lord navigates our will to choose Him. Remember, we have a will, but it is not autonomous like God's. God's will in divine election is His decretive will meaning that it always comes to pass regardless of what man does. God's decrees are fulfilled providentially through the free and even sinful choices of mankind.

Redemption was God's decree before time began. All those chosen by God will be redeemed. Not against their will, but in accordance with God's will.

Unequally Yoked

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A Contradiction in Scripture? #2 Why should we hate our family?

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Does God promise Eternal Security?

The idea of eternal security in Christ should provide believers with relief and it does for those of us who understand that salvation is eternal. But for some who over analyze this wonderful truth, it has become a stumbling block.

Let me explain what I mean.

I have read articles and spoken to some who believe that eternal security somehow is ultimately contingent upon man to secure it. Now if that is true, then Christ's atonement on the cross was not sufficient. For many believe it cannot be that easy - for Christ to die and someone repents and believes and they are saved eternally.

The question must be asked then. "What if someone believes in the work of Christ on the cross, but still lives the same way they did before their profession of faith?" This is an excellent question. Let's explore this.

1. The one who made the profession of faith in Christ yet still lives as if they are unsaved most likely is still unsaved. Remember if a person is genuinely born of God's Spirit, then they are a new creation. Old things have passed away and all has become new (2 Cor 5:17-18a). We must realize a supernatural transformation has occurred in our inner man and we cannot remain the same. God dwelling on the inside of us demands that we conform into the image of Christ our Savior. The true believer who grows to understand this truth will happily submit their will to God's will. This of course is an ongoing life long process. But, it will occur in the child of God. We must choose to live a sanctified life.
2. Our salvation is secured by God at the moment we believe so it is guaranteed to endure until the end of our lives. It will carry us into eternity. Why would God provide salvation for those whom He chose and leave it for us to actualize it? There is no eternal security if it's up to us to secure our own salvation by trying to live right. If we have to live right to keep our salvation, that is legalism, or salvation by works. We do not live right to keep our salvation, rather we live right because God has saved us. Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God had prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (i.e. the good works). It was God's plan before creation to save those who believed in Christ for them to walk faithfully with him.

I see two extremes happening here regarding eternal security. 1) There are those that are smug and careless with this reality so they live anyway they want. Since they believe they are saved and nothing they do will ever change that status, they think it is okay to be hell-on-wheels for they are going to heaven. 2) The other group lacks faith in the completed work of Christ on the cross so they exert useless energy to make sure they secure their own salvation. For the second group lacks assurance of their salvation as presented in the Bible. Group one is cheapening the grace of God. Group two does not realize the sufficiency of God's grace to save alone without man's help. Both groups are in sin.

Those in group one are frustrating the grace of God with their irreverent behavior. Romans 6:1-2 tell us that, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" The obvious answer is we can't! Those that die are free from sin. Since we symbolically died with the Lord when He was crucified - that is the old man of sin was buried in the grave. When Christ raised from the dead, we were raised with Him in newness of life (Rom 6, entire chapter). Those in group one cannot be saved if they are living a habitual unrepentant life of sin. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Those that truly know the Lord will be smitten of guilt and will run to God for repentance and cleansing of unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Those who name the name of Christ are to depart from iniquity (2 Tim 2:19b).  Those in this group have not exercised faith, only foolishness and presumption.

Those in group two are afraid so they are doing every "good" thing they can think of to merit the salvation God promised them when they believed. Salvation is obtained by grace through faith. It is the gift of God, not works lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9). We are used to working for what we want so it is a natural proclivity to attempt to do the same thing to secure our salvation. This group is attempting to have faith in their own faith, and not faith in God.

The work has been completed perfectly by Jesus Christ. We cannot add or take away from it. If we truly have salvation, we can never lose it. God is going to see to that. If we can lose it, we never had it in the first place. How can salvation be eternal if it can be lost or forfeited? If one insists on saying and I have heard this phrase, "Salvation is secure as long as you secure it!" My reply to that statement would be, at what point is your salvation secured? What or how many steps are there to securing it since for you genuinely repenting of sin and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith isn't enough to save you? There is no way one can meet the requirements needed to secure their salvation apart from Christ. This mindset makes you perhaps a "Good Catholic", but a bad Christian. Once again, this is a person who lacks faith in the atonement, and ultimately in the Word of God.  This person is double minded and unstable in all their ways (James 1:8).

Eternal security rests on God not us. Salvation is God's gift to humanity. Those who obtain it will over time treat it as the most precious gift they have received because it is. But it came to us at the ultimate price - it cost the life of our Savior and the spilling of his blood. His holy sacrifice was the perfect means to redeem mankind. Christ death was the cause and our salvation is the effect. There should never be any doubt whether God's gift of eternal life could not be anything but secure - look who is securing it!

Listen to the eternal security language of the Apostle Peter, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (italics mine), who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5). 

The Greek word for guarded is phroureo. It is a military term. It means to protect with a garrison.  In the 1 Peter context God by His omnipotent power is protecting and guarding us in Him.

Rest assured we are eternally secure in the Lord.

Is there a time when God permits anger?

Does the Bible provide examples to the above question? Yes. There are many examples of what is called righteous indignation. We should be angry about what the Lord is angry about. Unfortunately, we are often laughing and making light of what God hates. We can attribute that to our fallen sinful nature.

We are so desensitized to sin that things that are heinous in the sight of God are pleasurable to us. 

Jesus said in John 3:19b, "Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were (and are) evil".

Yes, this is one of those articles that will step on toes, mine included. And by me writing this article, it makes me even more culpable for my actions - something the natural man hates to admit. 

Phineas

Phineas was a priest during the time of Moses. He was the son of Eleazar who was the son of Aaron, the first High Priest of Israel. Aaron and Moses were brothers.  Aaron was dead by this time and his son Eleazar was installed as High Priest after him (Num 20:28-29). 

In Numbers 25 we read of Israel committing gross sin. They are intermarrying with the Moabites, sacrificing and worshiping their gods - idolatry. This violates the first two commandments inExodus 20:2-6).  This angers the Lord so He commands Moses to kill all the perpetrators. Phineas sees a Hebrew man bring a foreign woman to his tent so he grabs a spear and kills them both, through the man's back, and through the woman's stomach. 

  

Why would Phineas commit this seemingly gross act of murder? We discover as a result of Israel's sin, God sent a plague of death through the land. Phineas was angry for the Lord's sake. Killing the Hebrew man and woman was an act of righteousness that ended the plague, not before it claimed the lives of 24,000 people (Num 25:9). God commended Phineas for this and promised him a covenant of peace (Num 25:12).

Samuel 

The Amalekites were enemies of Israel for around 350 years during the time of the Prophet Samuel. The Lord promised that He would blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven during the time of the Exodus (Ex 17:14-15). A short history of the Amalekites: Amalek was the grandson of Esau the twin brother of Jacob (Gen 36:12). God commanded Samuel to give word to King Saul to destroy the Amalekites. Saul did not obey the Lord's command. He saved the best animals. He also spared their king, a man by the name of Agag. Samuel obeyed the word of the Lord and hacked Agag in pieces (I Samuel 15:33). 

Again, this was Samuel executing divine judgment on behalf of the Lord's wrath. It had to be done. This occasion was the perfect time to be angry because it was divine justice. Agag was an evil man and was doomed to destruction. Samuel being a righteous man was grieved by Saul's disobedience. The disobedience led to Saul's throne being taken away and given to David (I Sam 15:28).

The Corinthians 

In I Corinthians 5 we read of a man having a sexual relationship with his father's wife - his step mother. This sin was so gross that Paul said that the heathen would not engage in it (vs. 1). What made this even worse was that it was happening among professing Christians! Paul was outraged, but the Corinthian church was not. Rather they were arrogant. What should have happened is that the sinning member should have been removed from their assembly until he repented. Since it was not done there, Paul tells them to "put out that wicked person" (vs. 13).

There should have been grief over his sin instead of apathy among the congregation. It is important to remove the evil person before their ways influence others to commit sin as well. If allowed to remain in the bosom of the church the person believes there is no divine retribution for their sinful behavior and others will follow their evil ways deceiving themselves into thinking one can live anyway they want and God not chasten them for it (Heb 12:5-11).

Paul said later in this same letter that, "Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals" (I Cor 15:33).

What do these accounts teach us? There is a time to be angry - when God is angry. In each instance God commanded his servants to take action. To ignore the righteous anger of God is sin, and will be met with retribution on those who ignore His divine command to execute justice.

Please understand the last account is in regard to the Church, the people of God. God judges the outside world (I Cor 5:12).

Here is the balance we must have, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the son go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity" (Eph:26-27).

We are commanded  to be angry against evil for it will manifest the righteousness of God and show the sinner their sin clearly. This can drive them to godly repentance and ultimately salvation.

Who or what is the Church?

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