Not Chosen To Salvation
By Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
HERITAGE BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH
P.O. Box 573| Walnut Grove, MN 56180 | Telephone (507) 859-2519
CHAPTER TWO (continued)
26.
Sin--The Condemnation
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
1st Corinthians 15:21, 22
The common denominator for all mankind is sin. If God elects some to be saved, and not others, on what basis does God do this? All through the Bible, beginning with Adam, we find that God deals with man according to his sin. God deals with the lost concerning the only sin that He will not forgive and that is the sin of unbelief. Concerning the Christian, God deals with him according to the sin he has in his life after he is saved.
Let us go back to the book of Genesis and examine the record concerning the free will of Adam and Eve. In Genesis 2:15-17 we are told:
"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
At the point when man was created he was not spiritually dead. He was in an untested state concerning the commandment of God. We find no judgment pronounced upon Adam until he purposely, of his own free will, chose to disobey God. God is no respecter of persons. He dealt with Adam and his free will of choice as He does with every offspring of Adam clear on down to you and me. "For as in Adam all die." From the time Adam was created until he disobeyed God, he did not possess a fallen nature. He did possess a nature created of God such as no other person has ever had. When he sinned, that fallen nature was passed to every person thereafter. God had known by His foreknowledge that Adam would disobey Him, but He gave Adam the free will to make that decision himself.
It is important to remember that man's destiny of Heaven or Hell is determined by his sin. If a person chooses to pay for his own sin in Hell, God will honor his decision. If one chooses to go to Heaven, then he has the right by trusting God's payment for his sin, which is Christ. But the choice is his.
Since everyone has inherited the old sin nature from Adam, God has concluded in Romans 3:23:
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
In other words, we do not become a sinner because we sin--we sin because we are born a sinner! Therefore, we fall short of being as righteous as God Himself.
God deals with all mankind on the basis of sin. In Romans 6:23 God has concluded that "the wages of sin is death." This is why every person born into this world is in a condemned state. Notice in John 3:17:
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
We are all condemned because of sin. Notice carefully that justification for eternal life would then be on the basis of God dealing with the sin problem and not because of anything else. When Christ came into the world, the world was already condemned. He did not come to condemn it. But now we see the will of God revealed when He states "that the world through him might be saved." God sent Christ to pay for the sins of the world; therefore, any person who wishes may come to Christ and be saved.
God leaves no shroud of darkness surrounding His purpose and His will concerning man. God very simply tells us why we are condemned and how we can be justified through our faith in Christ. If God would elect some to be saved, and not others, He would then be a respecter of persons and would contradict His own word as found in Acts 10:34:
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."
I would like to continue along on this same line of thought. Notice Jesus' Words in John 14:6:
"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
In Romans 3:9-12 we find out the indictment of man concerning sin, as this is the basis for God's dealings with mankind. Notice verses 9 to 11:
"What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."
Now in verse 12:
"They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Notice again Romans 3:23:
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Now we would like for you to look at Romans 5:12...
"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Let us look in the Old Testament at the book of Isaiah in 64:6...
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade a leaf; and and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
Ecclesiastes 7:20 is in perfect harmony with these verses:
"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."
Psalms 51:5 speaks concerning David:
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
In 2nd Chronicles 6:36 we are told that...
"If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not)."
Sin--The Invitation
It is very important to remember that God deals with all of mankind according to his sin. Notice the invitation that God gives to all mankind as recorded in Isaiah 55:1:
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat, yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price."
Here we are told that God's invitation is extended to everyone. Now let us go to the New Testament in John 1:29:
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
In John 16:8, 9 we are told:
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me."
The word ''reprove'' would be better translated ''convict.'' The Holy Spirit will convict how many? The world. If every person could not be saved, because they were not elected to be saved, then why would the Holy Spirit waste His time convicting those who could not be saved, because they were not elected? Do you begin to see how contradictory this doctrine of election to salvation is to the Word of God?
Some who endorse election have become very subtle in their endorsement of this doctrine. They seek to appease everyone by their "fence straddling" position. They claim that they do not believe in a limited atonement. They state that God does elect some to be saved, but on the other hand, God did not elect the others to be lost. Those who hold to that position do nothing more than "talk out of both sides of their mouth--which amounts to a big bunch of double-talk!"
When I was in high school a large number of boys went out for the basketball team. After try-outs the coach chose certain boys to remain on the team and cut others. You see, the coach chose to elect certain ones to remain on the team and chose to cut the others. If election to salvation is true, the same principle applies. If God elected some to go to Heaven--then I don't care how you ''slice it or cut it''--the others were elected to go to Hell! Those who endorse this ''fence-straddling'' position do endorse a limited atonement, they just do not want the title. This is like saying, "I lie--but do not call me a liar," or "I cheat--but do not call me a cheater." Or a person claiming not to believe the Bible but still not wanting to be called an Atheist or Agnostic.
Those who adhere to the doctrine of election to salvation do believe in a limited atonement--whether they claim the title or not!
27.
Hell
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
Matthew 25:41
God did not prepare Hell for mankind as it was never God's will that man should sin. Hell was originally prepared for the devil and his angels. This reveals to us that man had a free will and a free choice. Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the human race, chose willfully to disobey God, which they did. God did not elect them to do that. It was of their own volition to choose or reject the will of God. So it is with everyone to choose or reject God's payment for their sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone stands responsible for their own decision.
28.
The Twelve Spies Sent To Canaan
We find the record in Numbers 13. God had promised the land of Canaan to the children of Israel in verse 2. Twelve spies were sent into Canaan and returned with their report. Two men, Caleb and Joshua, gave an encouraging report and stated in verse 30:
"...Let us go up at once, and possess it..."
The other Ten gave a negative report of discouragement in verse 31:
"...We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we."
The Ten went against God's will because of their lack of faith. If they were elected to serve with no free will, they would never have gone against God's will. Either God elected them to go against His own will or they chose to oppose God's will. Would one dare place the blame on God for their disobedience or should we hold the Ten responsible for their own choice? This author's verdict is: God is innocent--the ten spies are guilty!
29.
Israel's murmuring
Israel was about to rebel by refusing to enter Canaan and claim it as their possession. They were persuaded by the negative report of the ten spies. Caleb and Joshua pleaded with them in verse 9:
"Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not."
Why plead with them to rebel not if they had no free will to rebel with? Here, again, man stands responsible for his decisions by his own free will and choice.
There are thousands of examples that could be added. This section contains only the tip of the iceberg; but, I feel, enough to stimulate one's thinking.
Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
HERITAGE BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH
P.O. Box 573
Walnut Grove, MN 56180
Telephone (507) 859-2519
Web: www.heritagebbc.com
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