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
EXAMPLES OF THE FREE WILL OF MAN FOR SERVICE
1.
Moses' Good Decision
"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a reason; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."
Hebrews 11:25 - 27
Here we find Moses making a good choice out of his own free will. These verses state that Moses explicitly chose for himself as for a result of his own reasoning and analysis of the situation. He made his own decision to suffer affliction with God's people, Israel, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. It was Moses' responsibility and decision to do that. We also stand responsible for our decisions.
2.
Moses' Bad Decision
"For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his (Moses') hand would deliver them (Israel): but they understood not."
Acts 7:25
God had called Moses to deliver the nation of Israel out of bondage from the nation of Egypt after 400+ years. The circumstances relating to Moses' disobedience of that calling and his spending 40 years on the back side of the desert in wasted time is recorded in Exodus 2 and 3. Now, notice Acts 7:29-30:
"Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush."
You see Moses wasted 40 years by willfully disobeying God's will for him to lead the children of Israel out of bondage. After 40 years on the back side of the desert, Exodus 3 reveals to us that the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. After dealing with Moses in this manner, Exodus 3:10 enlightens us that God again seeks to have Moses obey His will as He commands him again to go unto Pharaoh. My question is, "Would God ask Moses to lead the children of Israel and then put it into Moses' mind to be disobedient to God's command?" This would be unbelievable! We do find, though, that Moses out of his own free will chose to disobey God. God did not over-ride the free will of Moses. Forty years later God dealt with Moses again and this time Moses chose to obey.
3.
"So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said."
Exodus 18:24
In reading all of Exodus 18, we find that Moses made a choice to choose able men to help him in judging the nation of Israel, based in the advice of his father-in-law. You will recall that Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had witnessed Moses judging all the people by himself which became a tremendous burden. Notice in verse 14:
"And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?"
What Moses was doing took up all of his time. We are told in verse 18:
"Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone."
We find that the advice of Moses' father-in-law was to search out people, teach them and allow them to help Moses in the work. We find this in verse 21:
"Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens."
Moses' response is recorded in verse 24:
"So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said."
Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them heads over the people. Notice Moses' reasoning for whom he chose in verse 25:
"They were able men."
God chooses us on the basis of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point is, Moses had a right to make a choice. Here he took the advice of his father-in-law, which was very good advice. But again, Moses had the free will in order to make a choice or reject the advice of Jethro. God uses people to take the Gospel and influence others to put their faith in Christ. In Romans 10:17 we are told that:
"...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
God uses Christians to help other Christians. We, as Christians, should listen to other Christians and at least hear what they have to say. We can benefit from their experience and knowledge and then make our decisions based on the Word of God. A wise pastor will always listen to the advice of experienced deacons, as many times they have good sound advice. They can be a tremendous help to a pastor with their experience. Therefore, each one of us is responsible for the decisions that we make. God never imposes His will to over-ride our free will to make those decisions.
4.
Lot
"Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other."
Genesis 13:11
As one studies the Biblical record we find that Lot continually made the wrong choice. Would one dare to accuse God of electing Lot to do the wrong things, to choose sin, and be disobedient? If you read the story as recorded in the entire 13th chapter, you find there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and those of Lot. Abraham had the right attitude as revealed in verses 8 and 9:
"And Abraham said unto Lot, let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me; if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."
Again, in verse 11, we find that, "Lot chose." It was his decision. One can hardly say that God made Lot make the wrong choice, or you would have God making a wrong decision. No, Lot was not elected to do that. Here you find the free will of Lot to make his own choice. Notice in verse 10:
"And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar."
Lot's choice was made by sight, not by faith. Notice, again, if you will in verse 12:
"Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom."
This was Lot's second wrong choice. The next wrong decision Lot made is recorded in Genesis 14:12:
"And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed."
Here we find out that Lot has chosen to live in Sodom. That surely was not God's will, but Lot made his own choice. Again Lot made his own choice in verse 1 of the 19th chapter:
"And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground."
Now he is sitting in the gate of Sodom. This may reveal that he held a position of some importance in this wicked city! Yet it was not God's will that he do this. But God permitted Lot to make his own choice. Lot was then visited by two angels from God as we have recorded in verse 19:4:
"But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from everyday quarter."
These were homosexuals. The name of the city of Sodom is where we get our word "sodomy." Now verse 5:
"And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in unto thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them."
It is not talking about meeting them and shaking hands--rather it is speaking about knowing them intimately! What a mess it was in Sodom! In verse 7 we find Lot's unbelievable response. Would one dare to accuse God of choosing Lot to do this? Then, you would have God electing Lot to sin. Notice the record in verse 7:
"And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly."
There would not be anything wicked about shaking hands with them, but to know them as far as having a sexual relationship (homosexuality), of course, it was wicked! Notice what Lot decided to do in verse 8:
"Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing: for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof."
We cannot blame God for Lot's choice. We must charge Lot with a bad decision made of his own free will. Therefore, God is righteous in judging Lot. If God's election over-ruled the free will of man, then Lot would be justified in accusing God of electing him to prostitute his daughters. How ridiculous! If God's election over-rides the free will of man, then Lot would not have made the decision that he made.
If one is going to use the words "election" and "choosing" as far as the positive sense, then the only thing left is the negative! If you have two cars and elect to drive one, the other is left. If you elect to drive the other, then the opposite is left. If you elect someone to serve you, then you find out that he has no choice but to serve you. Did God elect Lot to do this evil that he did? Absolutely not! God did not elect him and then control his mind to offer his two daughters to the perverted immorality of the homosexuals. Again the Scriptures reveal to us that Lot is a prime example of man's free will as he must stand responsible for his decisions. We find that Lot lost everything because he made the wrong choices. He was saved, yet so as by fire. In fact, we would never know that Lot was ever saved if it were not for the New Testament writings of Peter in 2nd Peter 2:6,7:
"And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked."
No one would ever have known Lot was saved as he continually made one wrong decision after another. Lot paid the price for his sinning and stood responsible for the choices he made. He lifted up his eyes toward Sodom, he had moved toward Sodom, he had dwelt in Sodom, and then sat in the gate at Sodom. Then Lot says in verse 14:
"...for the Lord will destroy this city."
Yes, God would not destroy the city until Lot came out. But Lot lost his wife, his home, and his possessions. God gave Lot a free will to make his own decisions, which he did, but he had to stand responsible for them.
In like manner, God tells us in Romans 14:10:
"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
Now in verse 12:
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
How can we give account of ourselves to God if we are already elected and predestinated to do certain things? Then why give an account to God, if we would automatically do them? There would be nothing to account for. We would be like robots who have been programmed, having no choice of our own. Therefore, we would just be a machine on which God pushes a button and we automatically do it. What do we have to give an account for? It would be impossible to refuse God's will, even if we wanted to. No, we have a free will so we shall all give account of ourselves unto God. We are held responsible, as we have a free will in choosing to serve Christ or disobey Him with our lives.
5.The Judgment Seat of Christ.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ: that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
2nd Corinthians 5:10
Those who endorse "election" must realize that if it is impossible for a Christian to resist God's electing or choosing for service, then that Christian must have his old nature eradicated when he was saved. Rather, this verse reveals to us that we are responsible for our actions. We are going to be judged at the judgment Seat of Christ for our rewards or loss of rewards according to what we have done. It is our choice. In other words, if we were programmed to serve Christ with no choice or free will, then why be judged for something we are not responsible for?
We find in our criminal courts today that a person judged mentally incompetent is not held responsible for what they do. The court would not judge a person guilty or not guilty if one is incapable of being responsible. If we were elected to serve Christ with no free will, then we would make no decision that is contrary to God's will. We would never get in a backslidden condition. The doctrine of election attacks the Word of God from every angle. It is never complimentary to God's Word nor does it agree with God's Word. Remember, "we must ALL appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ." You see, we stand responsible for the decisions that God allows us to make with our free will.
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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