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Predestination: The
foreordination of all things by God, including the salvation or
damnation of men.
“I shall not blush to
preach before you the doctrine of God’s Divine Sovereignty; I shall
not stagger to preach in the most unreserved and unguarded manner
the doctrine of election. I shall not be afraid to propound the
great truth of the final perseverance of the saints; I shall not
withhold that undoubted truth of Scripture, the effectual calling of
God’s elect.”
Matt. 20:28
Matt. 20:23
Places prepared by the Father.
Matt. 25:34
Inheritance prepared since creation.
Luke 10:20 A
new name isn’t written down in glory when you’re saved (it was
already there).
Luke 18:7
Justice for God’s chosen ones.
Acts 13:48
Only those appointed to eternal life will believe.
Rom. 8:28-33
Predestination is the first step in the salvation process.
Rom. 9:10-24
God’s purpose in election.
Rom. 11:5-8 A
remnant is chosen by grace.
I Cor. 1:26-29
God has chosen the foolish and base things of this world.
Eph. 1:4-12 We
were chosen before the creation of the world.
I Peter 1:1-2 We
are God’s elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
Jude 4
Some men have already been pre-ordained to condemnation.
Rev. 13:8
Names written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.
I Peter 1:20
Isaiah 46:10-11
John 1:13
I Cor. 2:14
I Thes. 1:5
I Cor. 4:7
I Cor. 15:10
Eph. 1:3
Eph. 2:8
II Tim. 2:28
I Peter 1:3
Phil. 1:6
John 3:19-20
I John 5:1
Matt 11:27
John 3:8
John 5:21
John 6:37, 39, 44,
63-65
1 Corinthians 1:9
Acts 2:39
Acts 16:14b
Acts 9
1 Cor. 1:9-26
Gal. 1:6-15
I Thes. 1:5, 6
I Thes. 2:12
I Thes. 5:24
II Thess. 2:14
Eph. 1:18
Eph. 4:1-4, 5
II Tim. 1:9
Heb. 3:1
I Peter 2:9
I Peter 5:10
II Peter 1:3-10
John 10:26-27
Matt. 7:16-18
Matt. 12:33-35
John 8:34-37
I Sam. 2:25
Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.
God can and does make
His grace
effectual or irresistible
at a time of His sovereign merciful choosing (John 6:37, 39, 44,
63-65; John 3:8; Matt 11:27; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Paul's conversion in
Acts 2:39, Acts 9; Rom 8:30 ROM 9:11-24; 1 Cor. 1:9-26; Gal. 1:6-15;
1 Thess. 1:5, 6; 1 Thess. 2:12; 5:24; 2 Thess. 2:14; Eph. 1:18;
4:1-4, 5; 2 Tim. 1:9; Heb. 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:9; 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3-10).
The Bible
clearly teaches God's sovereign choice of nations for specific roles
(Ezek. 38:4; Ps. 33:10; Ps. 2:1-6), and even of individuals for the
roles they play in his national strategy (Isa. 45:1; Dan.
4:32,34-35). Other passages clearly teach that God sovereignly
decides what spiritual gifts we get (1 Cor. 12:11), and our specific
ministry callings (Gal. 1:15,16).
Contra Remonstrance
(1618-1619)
(Synod of Dort)
T – Total Depravity
Because of sin man is
unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel.
Rom. 5:12
Eph. 2:1-3
Col. 2:13
Psalms 51:5
Jer. 17:9
Jer. 13:23
The theologians of
the Reformation and those who formulated the Reformed teaching into
these Five Points at the Synod of Dort, basing their findings firmly
on the Scriptures, pronounced that man's natural state is a state of
total depravity and therefore, there was a total inability on
the part of man to gain, or contribute to, his own salvation.
When Calvinists speak
of total depravity, however, they do not mean that every man
is as evil as he could possibly be, nor that man is unable to
recognise the will of God; nor yet, that he is unable to do any good
towards his fellow man) or even give outward allegiance to the
worship of God. What they do mean is that when man fell in the
Garden of Eden he fell in his "totality". The whole personality of
man has been affected by the Fall, and sin extends to the whole of
the faculties — the will, the understanding, the affections and all
else. We believe this to be irrefutably taught by the Word of God to
which we now refer. The following are merely a selection of the
Scriptures that confirm the Calvinistic teaching of
total depravity.
The Bible teaches
with absolute clarity that man, by nature, is DEAD:
"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." [Rom 5.12]. It tells us that men are BOUND:
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the
truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare
of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." [2
Tim 2.25 f]. It shows us that men are BLIND AND DEAF:".
. . but unto them that are without, all these things are done in
parables; that seeing they may see and not perceive, and
hearing they may hear and not understand." [Mark 4.1
if]. It shows us that we are UNINSTRUCTABLE: "But the natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness unto him; neither can he know then", because they
are spiritually discerned." [1 Cor 2.14]. The Bible speaks of
us as being NATURALLY SINFUL: [i] By Birth: "Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." [Ps
51.5]. [ii] By Practice:
"And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
[Gen 6.5].
This then, is man's
natural state. We must ask, then: Can the DEAD raise
themselves? Can the BOUND free themselves? Can the BLIND
give themselves sight, or the DEAF hearing? Can the SLAVES
redeem themselves? Can the UNINSTRUCTABLE teach themselves?
Can the NATURALLY SINFUL change themselves? Surely not I "Who
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" asks Job; and he
answers, "Not one!" [Job 14.4]. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
or the leopard his spots?" asks Jeremiah; "If they can," he
concludes, "then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do
evil." [Jer 13.23].
Could the Word of God
show more plainly than it does that the depravity is total? and that
our inability to desire or procure salvation is also total? The
picture is one of death — spiritual death. We are like Lazarus in
his tomb; we are bound hand and foot; corruption has taken hold upon
us. Just as there was no glimmer of life in the dead body of
Lazarus, so there is no "inner receptive spark" in our hearts. But
the Lord performs the miracle — both with the physically dead, and
the spiritually dead; for "you hath he quickened — made alive — who
were dead in trespasses and sins." [Eph 2.1]. Salvation, by
its very nature, must be "of the Lord."
Fallacy #1. God would
not command us to do what we cannot do.
God gave the Law to
Moses, The Ten Commandments, to reveal what man cannot do, not what
he can do.
A. Premise #1 is
unscriptural.
B. This premise is
irrational.
C. The consequences
of Adam's disobedience on his descendants includes spiritual
impotence in several areas:
Man's inability to
understand God (Psalm 50:21; Job 11:7-8; Rom 3:11)
To see spiritual
things (John 3:3)
To know his own heart
(Jer 17:9)
To direct his own
steps in the path of life (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 14:12)
To free himself from
the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:10)
To receive the Holy
Spirit (John 14:17)
To hear, understand
or receive the words of God (John 8:47; 1 Corinthians 2:14)
To give himself birth
into God's family (John 1:13, Romans 9:15-16)
To produce repentance
and faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9; John 6:64-65; II Thes. 3:2;
Phil. 1:29; II Tim. 2:25)
To come to Christ
(John 10:26; John 6:44)
To please God (Romans
8:5, 8, 9).
Fallacy #2. Unless
our will is free, then we are not responsible.
If we affirm that
bondage of will eliminates responsibility, then the best way to
avoid responsibility for ours sins to be as bound by them as
possible. The drunk who is bound by alcoholism is therefore not
responsible for his actions. Should we encourage people to sin all
the more therefore, so that they are not responsible any more?
Fallacy #3. For love
to be real, it must have the possibility of being rejected.
Scripture teaches
that love for God is a product of His grace. I Tim.1:14. If grace is
necessary to make us love God, then it follows that we had no
ability to love him before the arrival of grace. It also means that
grace is not given because we chose to love God. We chose to love
God because grace is given. Grace, not a virtue in man, takes the
initiative.
U – Unconditional
Election
God’s choice of
certain individual’s before the foundation of the world was gracious
and according to his sovereign will.
Deut. 10:14-15
Matt. 22:14
Eph. 1:4
Titus 1:1
Rev. 13:8
The doctrine of
unconditional election follows naturally from the doctrine of total
depravity. If man is, indeed, dead and held captive, and blind etc.,
then the remedy for all these conditions must lie outside man
himself [that is, with God]. We asked in the last chapter: "Can the
dead raise themselves?" and the answer must inevitably be: "of
course not." If, however, some men and women are raised out
of their spiritual death — "born again" as John's Gospel puts it —
and since they are unable to perform this work for themselves, then
we must conclude that it was God who raised them. On the other hand,
as many men and women are not "made alive", we must likewise
conclude that that is because God has not raised them. If man is
unable to save himself on account of the Fall in Adam being a
total fall, and if God alone can save, and if all are not
saved, then the conclusion must be that God has not chosen to save
all.
This is no blind
philosophy, but is drawn from, built upon, supported by, and
revealed in the Scriptures of God. The subject is one that is as
vast as the ocean itself; but we can do no more than quote just a
few key verses and scriptures that act as chart and compass across
these mighty seas.
The story of the
Bible is the story of unconditional election. It is strange that
those who oppose themselves to this doctrine fail to recognise this.
Some believers have difficulty in believing that God could pass by
some and choose others, and yet they have no apparent difficulty in
believing that God called Abraham out of heathen Ur of the Chaldees
and left the others to their heathenism. Why should God choose the
nation of Israel as His "peculiar people"? There is no need to
speculate, for Deuteronomy 7.7 gives us the answer: "The Lord did
not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in
number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people; but
because the Lord loved you . . ." Why should God, completely
disregarding the family laws of Israel, choose the younger son
Jacob, in place of the elder Esau? Again, "to the law and to the
testimony". Romans 9.11-13: ". . . that the purpose of God according
to election might stand . . . Jacob have I loved but Esau have I
hated."
What was the doctrine
that Jesus preached in the synagogue at Nazareth but the doctrine of
unconditional election? "And I tell you, many widows were in Israel
in the days of Elias . . . but unto none of them was Elias sent save
unto a woman of Sarepta. . . and many lepers were in Israel in the
days of Eliseus . . . and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman
the Syrian." [Luke 4.25-27]. We know the outcome of our
Lord's preaching of that message: "They led him to the brow of the
hill that they might cast him down headlong."
Lack of space forbids
a full account of God's sovereign choice of His people; but the
truth is clear: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" [John
l5.6]; "Has not the potter power over the clay, to make one lump
unto honour and another to dishonour"? [Rom 9.21]. "I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy." [Rom 9.15]; "Chosen in
Christ from the foundation of the world," "predestinated unto the
adoption of children" [Eph 1.45]; and so on.
We grant that there
is a "kind of election" that is held by many believers today.
Broadly speaking this is based on Romans 8.29: "For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate, etc." The case runs something
like this: God foresaw those who were going to accept Christ,
and therefore He "elected" them to eternal life. Against this view
we point out that:
1. God's
foreknowledge is spoken of in connection with a people and not in
connection with any action which people performed. The Scripture
reads: "Whom he did foreknow" etc. Again God speaks thus
through Amos: "You only have I known of all nations of the earth."
That is to say, irrespective of any action, good or had, performed
by them, God "knew" them in the sense that He loved and chose them
to be His own. It is thus that He foreknew His elect.
2. It will not do to
say that God elected us because He saw something that we would do —
that is, accept His Son. We are not chosen because we perform such a
holy work as "accepting" Christ, but we are chosen so that we might
be able to "accept" Him. "For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them." [Eph 2.10].
3. Neither will it do
to say that God foresaw those who would believe. Acts 13.48 makes
this abundantly clear: "And as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed." Election is not on account of our believing, but
our believing is on account of our being elected — "ordained to
eternal life."
4. Again, to say that
we exercised faith in accepting Christ, and that God foresaw this
faith, and, therefore, elected us, only drives us a step further
back; for, where did we get the faith to exercise? The Scriptures
provide the answer: "It is the gift of God, not of ourselves."
Surely, instead of
arguing against these things, we should be doing what the Holy
Spirit through the apostle Peter commands us to do: "Give diligence
to make your calling and election sure."
L – Limited Atonement
Christ’s atoning work
was intended to save only the elect and secure their salvation.
Matt. 1:21
John 10:11, 14-18
Eph. 5:25-26
This third point not
only brings us to the central point of the five, but also to the
central fact of the gospel, that is, the purpose of Christ's death
on the Cross. This is not accidental. The theologians who had set
themselves the task of defending the truths of the Protestant
Reformation against the attacks of the Arminian party were following
a Biblical and logical line in their formulations and had now
arrived at the very pivot of salvation. First of all, they had
asked, "Who is to be saved?" The answer was "Man". But the Bible's
teaching with regard to man showed that man, in his natural state,
is totally unable to save himself. Thus, we have the teaching of the
Bible on man set under the general heading of total depravity, or
total inability. Secondly, as some men and women are
undoubtedly saved, then it must have been God Himself who had saved
them in contra-distinction to the rest of mankind. This is election:
"That the purpose of God according to election might stand . . ." [Rom
9.11]. However, this election only "marked the house to which
salvation should travel," as Spurgeon puts it, and a full and
perfect and satisfactory atonement was still required for the
sins of the elect, so that God might be, not only a Saviour, but "a
just God, and a Saviour." This atonement, as we all acknowledge, was
accomplished through Christ's voluntary submission to the death on
the Cross where He suffered under the justice of this just God, and
procured the salvation that he as Saviour had ordained. On the
Cross, then — and, no doubt, we all accept this — Christ bore
punishment, and procured salvation.
The question now
arises: whose punishment did He bear, and whose
salvation did He procure? There are three avenues along which we can
travel with regard to this:
1. Christ died to
save all men without distinction.
2. Christ died to
save no one in particular.
3. Christ died to
save a certain number.
The first view is
that held by "Universalists," namely, Christ died to save all
men, and so, they very logically assume, all men will be
saved. If Christ has paid the debt of sin, has saved, ransomed,
given His life for all men, then all men will be
saved. The second view is the "Arminian" one, that Christ procured a
potential salvation for all men. Christ died on the
Cross, this view says, but although he paid the debt of our sin, his
work on the Cross does not become effectual until man "decides for"
Christ and is thereby saved. The third view of the Atonement is the
"Calvinistic" one, and it says that Christ died positively
and effectually to save a certain number of hell-deserving sinners
on whom the Father had already set His free electing love. The Son
pays the debt for these elect ones, makes satisfaction for them to
the Father's justice, and imputes His own righteousness to them so
that they are complete in Him.
Christ's death, then,
could only have been for one of these three reasons: to save all;
to save no one in particular; to save a particular
number. The third view is that which is held by the Calvinist
and is generally called limited atonement, or particular redemption.
Christ died to save a particular number of sinners; that is,
those "chosen in him before the foundation of the world" [Eph
1.4]; those whom the Father had "given him out of the world" [John
17.9]; those for whom He Himself said He shed His blood: "This
is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for
the remission of sins" [Matt 26.28].
This last view, we
claim, does justice to the purpose of Christ's coming to this
earth to die on the Cross. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he
shall save his people from their sins." Not the Jews, surely,
for the Jews are not saved as a people. Jesus "loved the church, and
gave himself for it" [Eph 5.25]. "He was delivered for
our offences, and raised again for our justification"
[Rom. 4.25]. Whom does the Holy Spirit mean when He says,
"Our"? The world? If so, then the Universalist is right, for
Christ was, then, "delivered for [the world's] offences and raised
again for [the world's] justification", so the world is justified
before God. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall
all be made alive" [1 Cor 15.22]. This again can only
mean that all of Adam's posterity die in Adam, as indeed they
do, for "death has passed upon all men"; but all of Christ's
posterity — the Church that He gave Himself for — are made alive in
Him. Why is this? Surely, it is because He gave Himself for
them! "By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many, for he shall bear their iniquities" [Is
53.11]. And when He accomplishes this as He hangs upon the Cross,
says the prophet Isaiah in that great chapter 53 of his prophecy, He
sees "of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied." The
travail of His soul as He pours out His soul an offering for our sin
shall bear spiritual children to the praise of His name, and He
shall be satisfied when He sees this work accomplished.
We do not overlook
the fact that there are some Scriptures which refer to the "world",
and many have taken these as their starting point in the question of
Redemption. However, when we compare scripture with scripture, we
see that the use of the word "world" need not imply "every man and
woman in the world." "Behold, the world has gone alter him,"
they said of Jesus; every person, however, had not "gone after"
Christ. The expression means "every kind of person" — and normally
Gentile as well as Jew. The over-riding question must always be the
Divine intention; did God intend to save all men, or did He
not? If He did not intend to save all men without exception but only
the elect, then, the work of Christ on the Cross is a glorious
success, and we right well believe: "All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me . . ." [John 6.37]. If,
on the other hand, it was God's intention to save the entire world,
then the atonement of Christ has been a great failure, for vast
numbers of mankind have not been saved. Christ paid our debt!
Whose debt? The world's, or the elect's? Surely, if a man has
been redeemed by a redeemer, then the law which he has broken must
be satisfied by reason of the work of the Surety on his behalf.
If Thou
hast my discharge procured,
And freely in my place endured
The whole of wrath Divine;
Payment God will not twice demand,
First at my bleeding Surety's hand,
And then again at mine.
I – Irresistible
Grace
The Holy Spirit
extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitable brings
them to salvation.
Rom. 8:14
I Cor. 6:11
I Peter 1:2
This fourth point of
the Calvinistic system of belief is, once again, the logical outcome
of all that has gone before it. If men are unable to save themselves
on account of their fallen nature, and if God has purposed to save
them, and Christ has accomplished their salvation, then it
logically follows that God must also provide the means for calling
them into the benefits of that salvation which He has procured for
them. The Calvinistic system of theology, however, although soundly
logical, is more than a system of mere logic. It is a system of pure
Biblical belief which stands firmly on the Word of God. Its doctrine
of irresistible grace, then, is not devised by the men who drew up
the Five Points of Calvinism at the Synod of Dort, but is the
revelation unfolded in God's Holy Word. For example, Romans 8.20:
"Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called." God not
only elected men and women to salvation; He also called those
whom it pleased Him to elect.
What is meant by
irresistible grace? We know that when the gospel call goes out in a
church, or in the open air, or through reading God's Word, not
everyone heeds that call. Not everyone becomes convinced of sin and
his need of Christ. This explains the fact that there are two
calls. There is not only an outward call; there is also an
inward call. The outward call may be described as "words of the
preacher", and this call, when it goes forth, may work a score of
different ways in a score of different hearts producing a score of
different results. One thing it will not do, however; it will not
work a work of salvation in a sinner's soul. For a work of salvation
to be wrought the outward call must be accompanied by the inward
call of God's Holy Spirit, for He it is who "convinces of sin, and
righteousness, and judgment." And when the Holy Spirit calls a man,
or a woman, or a young person by His grace, that call is
irresistible: it cannot be frustrated; it is the manifestation
of God's irresistible grace.
This is substantiated
again and again in God's Word of Life, as for example in the
following verses and portions.
1. "All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out" [John 6.37]. Note that it is
those whom the Father has "given to Christ" — the elect — that
"shall come" to Him; and when they come to Him they will not be
"cast out".
2. "No man can come
to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him" [John
6.44]. Here our Lord is simply saying that it is impossible for
men to come to Him of themselves; the Father must "draw"
them.
3. "Every man,
therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father,
cometh unto me" [John 6.45]. Men may hear the outward call;
but it is those who have "learned of the Father" who will respond
and come to Christ. So, with Simon Peter: "Blessed art thou Simon
Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but
thy Father, which is in heaven."
4. "For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God" [Rom 8.14].
5. "But when it
pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called
me by His grace . . ." [Gal 1.15].
6. "But ye are a
chosen generation . . . that ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light" [1 Pet 2.9].
7. "But the God of
all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by
Christ Jesus . . ." [1 Pet 5.10].
One outstanding
illustration of this teaching of irresistible grace, or effectual
calling, is certainly the incident that we read in Acts 16. The
apostle Paul preaches the gospel to a group of women by the
riverside at Philippi; and as he does so, "a certain woman named
Lydia heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she
attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul." Paul, the
preacher, spoke to Lydia's ear — the outward call; but the Lord
spoke to Lydia's heart — the inward call of irresistible grace.
Arminians believe
that men and women can and do resist the call of God's gospel, and,
therefore, they contend, there can be no such doctrine as that of
irresistible grace. We believe that not only can men and
women resist God's gospel, but that they do, and must by
their very natures, resist it. Therefore there must be such a
doctrine as the doctrine of irresistible grace. In other words, some
influence greater than our natures — greater than our resistance —
must be brought to bear upon our souls, or else we are for ever
doomed, for "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God." There are three great forces at work in the matter of a
man's salvation:
1. Man's
will.
2. The Devil's will.
3. God's will.
Which will be the
victor? If God's will is not victorious in the matter of our
salvation, then, the Devil's will must be, for the devil is
stronger than we are. Thomas Watson, an old Puritan of the 17th
century, puts the matter vividly in these words: "God rides forth
conquering in the chariot of His Gospel. . . He conquers the pride
of the heart, and makes the will which stood out as a Fort
Royal against Him, to yield and stoop to His grace; He makes the
stony heart bleed. Oh! it is a mighty call! Why then do some men
seem to speak of a moral persuasion? That God in the conversion of a
sinner only morally persuades and no more? If God in conversion
should only morally persuade and no more, then He does not put forth
so much power in saving men as the Devil does in destroying them."
Whose will shall be the victor? Our will? But does it not stand out,
indeed, as "a fort royal" against the Lord; "Ye will not come
unto me that ye might have life." The Devil's will? Then who will
ever be saved, for his will must always be stronger than ours. But
surely this is the gospel, that "a stronger than the strong"
appears, conquering and to conquer in the chariot of His gospel; and
He does conquer! He conquers Satan, and He conquers puny man as
well, to the praise of His irresistible grace.
P – Perseverance of
the Saints
All chosen by God,
redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Holy Spirit will endure
to the end.
John 3:36
John 6:35-40
Phil. 1:6
And now, to the final
point — the perseverance of the saints. Again, for the sake of
summary, let us refer to the Baptist Confession, which agrees on
this point with the other historic confessions of faith. "Those whom
God hath accepted in the Beloved," it says, "effectually called and
sanctified by His Spirit, and given the precious faith of His elect
unto, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace,
but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally
saved, seeing the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
. . "
Again let us show
that this is exactly what the Scriptures teach us. "For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be
for us, who can be against us? . . . for I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life . . . nor any other creature shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
[Rom 8.27 ff].
And again, let us
recognise the fact that all that the men at the Synod of Dort [and
those who teach likewise] were doing, was putting into small compass
in a systematic form, the teaching of God's gospel of free and
sovereign grace. If man cannot save himself, then God must save him.
If all are not saved, then God has not saved all. If Christ has made
satisfaction for sins, then, it is for the sins of those who are
saved. If God intends to reveal this salvation in Christ to the
hearts of those whom He chooses to save, then, God will provide the
means of effectually doing so. If, therefore, having ordained
to save, died to save, and called to salvation those
who could never save themselves, He will also preserve those
saved ones unto eternal life to the glory of His Name.
Thus following total
depravity, and unconditional election, and limited atonement, and
effectual calling, we have — the perseverance of the saints.
"He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ" [Phil 1.6]. The Word of God is replete with
references to this blessed truth. "And this is the Father's will,
that of all He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day" [John 6.39]. "I give unto my
sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand" [John 10.28). "For if; when we
were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" [Rom
5.10]. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are
in Christ Jesus" [Rom 8.1].
This is the
believer's hallmark, that he belongs to Christ; that he is
persevering in the things of Christ; that he is "giving all
diligence to make his calling and election sure." The believer in
Christ may fall into temptation, but the Lord will "not suffer him
to be tempted above that which he is able, but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape," so that the believer comes
forth, and goes forth again in the things pertaining to his
salvation to the glory of Christ. Those matchless verses of Romans
8.28-39 show the Divine logic in God's eternal salvation; the logic
that Calvinism simply states. The salvation that begins in the mind
and purpose of God must end in the fulfillment of His unthwartable
purpose that those "whom he did foreknow" are eternally united with
their Saviour.
Increasingly as time
went by, the emphasis in so-called Christian life had been shifted
towards making man responsible for the preparation of his own heart
to merit the infusion of the grace of God. This had not improved the
spiritual life as a whole: it had tended only to increase the
severity of the penalties imposed upon those who were manifestly
failing. But this, too, had little effect in correcting the steady
decline in Christian morality. Men remained selfish and inhumane and
carnal as they had always been. And the question began to be asked,
Why do Christian principles generate so little genuine goodness? Why
if some men so earnestly desire to be holy, and if the reward for
holiness of life is so great and the penalty for failure so
terrible, do not men of good intent achieve their goal? Was there,
after all, something really wrong with man's will to good?
-----
I question whether
we have preached the whole counsel of God, unless predestination
with all its solemnity and sureness be continually declared.
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