Salvation and The Nature of Man

Salvation and the Nature of Man
By Gordon Cardell

Salvation and the Nature of Man
By: Gordon Cardell
2304 West D Street
Anniston, Alabama 36201
(256) 444-8318
[email protected]
Contents
Introduction
What is Salvation?
Mans Nature
How is Man Judged?
Gods Glory
Gods Will
Covenants
Gods Chosen People
For God So Loved the World
The Remnant
The Church
Children of God
The Blood of Christ
Christ is the Light
The Righteousness of Christ
Gods Sovereignty
Can Man Choose His Own Destiny?
All Power Belongs to God
Our Salvation Has Been Appointed
We Are Born Spiritually Blind
We Are Born Spiritually Dead
Who Is Able to Love God
Eternal Security
The Two Natures of the Believer
The Message of the Bible
What Is Truth?
Who Then Can Be Saved
False Doctrine
To Those Who Have Come to Christ
Postscript
Resources
Postscript
Introduction
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which
are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all
the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)
And we know that the Son of God is come, and given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in
his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1John 5:20)
(All scripture verses have been taken from the ESV (English Standard Version).
Although this authors preference is to use the KJV (King James Version), the ESV is
used so that this work may be translated more easily into other languages. Where the
KJV is more useful, it will be used and noted.)
We explore this subject of man's salvation because we wish to know the truth; the
truth about God, and the truth about man. It is our desire that through this study, God will

be glorified and given the honor that He is worthy of. The subject of man's salvation must
be considered in the context of his own nature, God's nature, God's purpose, and God's
will. It is a subject that has indeed caused much division in the church; however, and
some great writers have suggested that for this reason it should not be investigated. In
the early sixteenth century, Martin Luther and Erasmus argued most bitterly over what
they and their contemporaries thought was the characteristic difference between the
evolving Catholic and Protestant views concerning human nature, namely, the question
of free will. Luther concluded that truth is to be found in the Holy Scriptures and not in the
teaching of the Church. Protestants emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith
alone, while Catholics believed that man's salvation was dependent not only on faith, but
also on good works.
This was only one of the differences between these two groups at the time. Erasmus
argued from the position referred to as Christian Humanism. Luther was concerned with
error in the Church at that time, and with exposing the Christianity of the Church as a
dogmatic religion. But in his efforts to do this, he discovered much about the truth
regarding God and Man. His relating of this to men of his time resulted in what is called,
The Reformation. It is the basis of Protestant and Puritan views of God's relationship to
man. John Calvin (1509-64) developed the most comprehensive theological system
regarding the Protestant views, which emphasized God's sovereignty.
Erasmus in his great debate with Martin Luther stated in his discourse 'On Free Will'
that, It is more devout to adore the unknown than to investigate the unexplorable. This
writer contends that it is a subject which is not only possible to explore, but that in

exploring it, we do not adore the unknown, which makes no sense, but that we adore
God Himself more. Since then the Church has splintered into countless factions, and
these varied belief systems can be traced to differences in fundamental beliefs regarding
the conception of the nature of man, and the nature of God.
Many of those reading this are Christians. As Christians, we all can agree that our
salvation is based on God's love for them. We also agree that one must have faith in
Jesus Christ and His shed blood as payment for our sins. We know that their salvation
also entails repentance of our sins. Yet many Christians believe that their salvation is a
result of their faith and repentance. However; as we shall demonstrate later, faith and
repentance are the result of salvation. Perhaps the most well-known verses from the
Bible are found in the Gospel of John:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
How many Christians ever reflect on how they became saved? Perhaps one says,
one day I realized that I had been living in sin, and I decided to change my life, or I
wanted to do the right thing and give my life to the Lord? Nearly all Christians will agree
that God is in control of everything in the universe and yet sometimes we think that
things do not always turn out the way God wants them to. Some say that God has a plan
for their life, but they also say that they may choose not to participate in that plan, and
simply do as they wish. When loved ones seem to have died in a lost condition, we do

not want to think that God could possibly have decided to save some, and not save
others. Not wanting to believe that God is unfair by our judgment, we can end up
thinking it is simply up to us whether we want to be saved or not. But we err when we
formulate our own ideas of how God acts, and the results of this thinking is not only
confusion and false conclusions, but this leads us to a wrong understanding of God, and
undermines His sovereignty. Where can we learn the right understanding of God? It is
found in the bible, and we must agree that the truth is in the bible, or we have no way of
finding the truth at all.
In this volume we will not attempt to refute every argument of Erasmus, Origien,
Arminius and others. We may use occasional reference to them to illustrate the errors
which lead to false teaching. After examining what is presented here, the reader should
have an understanding of some of these errors. We simply wish to present the truth as it
is written in the Holy Scriptures. Lewis Sperry Chafer in his book Salvation: a Clear
Doctrinal Analysis says:
The death of Christ is explained in the Scriptures and the personal
acceptance or rejection of that divine explanation is declared to be the
point which determines the destiny of each individual. Men are said to
stand, or fall, not by their moral, or religious standards, but by their
personal choice in relation to the death and saving grace of Christ. The
question is as important, therefore, as the destiny of man. He goes on to
say that God in Christ has redeemed the whole world and every person in

it, and now is waiting for them to be thoroughly changed by the message
of the Cross in reconciliation toward Him.
Furthermore he says,
He has redeemed them by the blood of Christ who was 'the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world,' but is now awaiting their act of faith
toward the Christ that He might with power of the Spirit transform them into
the very sons of God. He has propitiated toward 'the whole world,' but must
await the willingness of the individual to stand only on the fact that the
righteous judgments for sin have already been accomplished in the cross
of Christ.
Now, this is a very popular view of the salvation of sinners. It is popular because, as
we see, man's salvation is dependent on himself. It puts man's destiny in his own hands.
It puts man in control of the future, and thereby attributes to himself godlike power. Does
this sound familiar? It was satan himself who said this:
You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I
will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far
reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will
make myself like the Most High.' (Isaiah 14:13-14)
Adam and Eve made the choice to do their own will, and by their pride, they thought
to make themselves higher than God by choosing to do as they pleased. We hear such
things today as you can be anything you want to be, just go for it, or as a once popular

song goes, I believe I can fly. I don't think any of us would like to test that imagination
by jumping out of an airplane with no parachute. We all have limitations to what we can
do or achieve, due to the manner in which we are made. We are certainly limited by our
genetic makeup as to what we may expect to be able to perform. All things have
properties due to their form, composition, and attributes. All objects can only behave, or
act, within the scope of a set of properties which is their nature. The behavior they
exhibit reflects their nature, or makeup. So it is with man. But what are the properties of
man? What is the nature of man?
Much of what is presented here is not new, however to believe these views today is
considered by many to be heresy. Actually, it is precisely what the early Church believed.
(We urge the reader to review the appendix C where documents from the Early Church
Fathers are presented.)
We must approach our pursuit of the truth with the common understanding that the
Scriptures are indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit, and are written in order that we may
come to understand the truth. We must also agree that for there to be truth at all, there
must be only one absolute truth. If we cannot agree on this, we can go no further, since
we would have no source of truth. As the alternative we must each then devise our own
truth. Of course that would mean that indeed there would be no truth at all; no absolute
truth. We certainly do not claim to present here the complete truth, but only facets of it as
they are revealed to us in the Scriptures. If we can agree that the Bible is indeed written
for our understanding, why is it that we find so many different interpretations? It is
because we still have a mind which is tainted by sin and corruption. It is man's pride

which tries to hide, or cover, the truth. By nature we tend to hide the truth that man is not
a god. We tend to refuse the truth is that God is in control, not man. It is indeed possible
to know the truth, but instead of trying to make the rest of the Bible conform to our own
ideas about these verses, we must take the verses which we present here in the context
of the chapter and verse where they are presented, and also in the context of the rest of
the Bible. This is the only way to properly study and understand the Bible.
The verses which are presented here can teach us much about salvation, and about
the nature of man. But we are not so much concerned about learning facts. Learning
facts is not our ultimate goal or purpose. Our pride warps and twists the things we read
in the Scriptures. Our minds wrestle with the truth, and our corruption stands in the way
of everything except divine revelation. Arguments will not suffice. We want to learn about
and to know the One who is The Truth. God must reveal Himself to us that we may
discover Him. It is sincerely hoped that through the reading of God's word presented in
the following chapters, one may experience such a revelation.
But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of
man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- these
things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
(Jeremiah 29:13)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)

Chapter One
What is Salvation?
We will first look at words in the Bible which convey the meaning of salvation. We will
also include their Greek and Hebrew derivatives given with their corresponding Strong's
Concordance reference numbers. This is given so that the reader may gain a greater
insight to the depth of meaning of the verses which we are about to encounter in our
search.
Salvation is an act of God, a decree by which those being saved are made whole,
delivered from the guilt and penalty for their sins, and eternally preserved. Strong's
concordance provides us with definitions for both the Greek and the Hebrew words used
in the Bible. Each word also has a cross reference number which can be used with other
reference works.
Salvation (G4991) so-tay-ree'-ah
rescue or safety (physically or morally): - deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.
(All definitions are taken from Strong's Concordance. Those marked with G are Greek
words from the New Testament. Those marked H are Hebrew words from the Old
Testament). Many of words we have chosen to use in our English language, have many
different words to represent them in the original languages. The verses chosen will use
the definitions that we present here).
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by
the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you

through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
Deliver (H5337) naw-tsal'
to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad sense: - X at all, defend, deliver (self),
escape, X without fail, part, pluck, preserve, recover, rescue, rid, save, spoil, strip, X
surely, take (out).
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the
grasp of the ruthless. (Jeremiah 15:21)
Save (H3467) yaw-shah'
properly to be open, wide or free, that is, (by implication) to be safe; causatively to free or
succor: - X at all, avenging, defend, deliver (-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring
(having) salvation, save (-iour), get victory.
And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight
against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save
you and deliver you, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 15:20)
(It should be noted that the Hebrew word for Jesus is Yehshua and it is derived from
this word.)
Jesus (G2424) ee-ay-sooce'
Jesus (that is, Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites: - Jesus.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
Saved (G4982) sode'-zo
to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): - heal, preserve, save (self), do
well, be (make) whole.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)
Now, we will go into further depth by looking at words which are not only related to
salvation, but can be said to be elements of salvation. As it appears to us, they may
seem to be in some sequence but our own perception is of course, limited. We simply
say here that it is evident that there are different elements which can be distinguished.
We do not say that this is a complete set but only those which are easily identified. It is
fascinating to see that these elements are often combined, in the verses in which we find
them. Listed here are some of the elements, or facets of salvation:
Predestination (Election)
Grace
Faith
Repentance
The forgiveness of sins
The imputation of righteousness
Justification
Sanctification
Redemption
Glorification
Inheritance
Predestinate (G4309) pro-or-id'-zo

to limit in advance, that is, (figuratively) predetermine: determine before, ordain,
predestinate.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his
will, (Ephesians 1:4-5)
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined
according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the
counsel of his will, (Ephesians 1:11)
Note the meaning of predestine, from Thayer's Lexicon of Greek words:
1) to predetermine, decide beforehand
2) in the NT of God decreeing from eternity
3) to foreordain, appoint beforehand
Election (G1589) ek-log-ay'
(divine) selection (abstractly or concretely): - chosen, election.
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of
the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:2)
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by
grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be
grace. (Romans 11:5-6)

Grace (H2580) khane
graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty): - favour,
grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, [well-] favoured.
The first mention of the word grace (KJV) in the Bible is in Genesis:
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:8)
Grace (G5485) khar'-ece
graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or
spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life;
including gratitude): - acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality,
pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that
was given you in Christ Jesus, (1 Corinthians 1:4)
Faith (H 530) em-oo-naw', em-oo-naw'
literally firmness; figuratively security; moral fidelity: - faith (-ful, -ly, -ness, [man]), set
office, stability, steady, truly, truth, verily.
There are only two verses in the Old Testament which contain the word faith
"Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous
shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)
Faith (G4102) pis'-tis
persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of
God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly,

constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: -
assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might
be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)
Faith is a gift.
While Paul was speaking to fellow Christians he says:
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
(Romans 12:3)
and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have
faith. (2 Thessalonians 3:2)
Faith is a fruit of the Spirit and so one cannot have faith apart from having been
given the Holy Spirit. The word translated faithulness, in this ESV translation is indeed
the Greek word pistis, which is translated into English, faith, or in the Strongs
Concordance, especially reliance upon Christ for salvation, This is quite important here,
since it is not an adjective, but a noun. Unfortunately, our ESV translation fails us here.
This word is consistently translated, faith, in the KJV or King James Version. (More
technically, out of 244 times it is used in the New Testament, the word is translated

faith, 243 times and one time it is translated, assurance, in Acts 17:31, where this
author can see no reason why it should be translated any other than it has been
throughout.)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, (Galatians 5:22)
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God that depends on faith (Philippians 3:9)
Repentance (H5164) no'-kham
ruefulness, that is, desistance: - repentance.
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from
Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes. (Hosea 13:14)
Repentance (G3341) met-an'-oy-ah
compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication reversal (of [another's]
decision): - repentance.
God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give
repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31)
When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God,
saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads
to life." (Acts 11:18)

correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them
repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, (2 Timothy 2:25)
God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by
turning every one of you from your wickedness. (Acts 3:26)
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and
patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to
repentance? (Romans 2:4)
Repentance, or turning away from sin, is commonly thought of as a requirement
preceding salvation; however, we find here that it is also something that is given along
with the forgiveness of sins.
Forgiveness (G859) af'-es-is
pardon: - deliverance, forgiveness, liberty, remission.
Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man
forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes
is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of
Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from
the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a
place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (Ephesians 1:7)

Impute (G3049) log-id'-zom-ahee
to take an inventory, that is, estimate (literally or figuratively): - conclude, (ac-) count (of),
+ despise, esteem, impute, lay, number, reason, reckon, suppose, think (on).
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew
strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was
able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him
as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written
for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in
him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for
our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:20-25)
and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it
was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.
(James 2:23)
Justification (G1345) dik-ah'-yo-sis
From G1344; acquittal (for Christ's sake): - justification.
And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the
judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift
following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one
man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those
who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness
reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:16-17)
Justification (G1347) dik-ah'-yo-sis
From G1344; acquittal (for Christ's sake): - justification.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of
righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. (Romans 5:18)
Justify (H6663) tsaw-dak'
A primitive root; to be (causatively make) right (in a moral or forensic sense): - cleanse,
clear self, (be, do) just (-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be, turn to) righteous (-ness).
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his
knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be
accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)
Justify G1344 dik-ah-yo'-o
From G1342; to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify (-ier),
be righteous.
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the
nations be blessed." (Galatians 3:8)
To justify is to be made righteous. Some like to say that justification is God seeing us
just as if wed never sinned. The definition of righteous from the World English
Dictionary is as follows:
Righteous
characterized by, proceeding from, or in accordance with accepted standards of morality,
justice, or uprightness; virtuous: a righteous man
Sanctify (G37) hag-ee-ad'-zo
to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: - hallow,
be holy, sanctify.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom
from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, (1 Corinthians
1:30)
Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were
taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord
Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us
eternal comfort and good hope through grace, (2 Thessalonians 2:13-16)
place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' (Acts 26:18)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are
called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: (Jude 1:1)
From this last verse, we see that the sanctification which the believer has received
and is receiving, comes from God Himself. This writer's definition of sanctification would
be that sanctification is a process by which the Holy Spirit acts upon the human will that
causes that will to submit more and more to God's will and less and less to the forces of

the world, the flesh, and the devil, thereby producing holiness in the believer. From
man's perspective, he is making good choices, and actually acting out of the new, or
divine nature. This will be covered again in latter chapters.
Redeem (H6299) paw-daw'
to sever, that is, ransom; generally to release, preserve: - X at all, deliver, X by any
means, ransom, (that are to be, let be) redeem (-ed), rescue, X surely
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the
grasp of the ruthless." (Jeremiah 15:21)
Redeem (G1805) exagorazo
to buy up, that is, ransom; figuratively to rescue from loss (improve opportunity): -
redeem.
to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:5)
Redeemed (G3085) loo-tro'-o
a ransoming (figuratively): redeemed, redemption.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his
people (Luke 1:68)
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and
to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed
people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
(Revelation 5:9)

Redemption (G629) ap-ol-oo'-tro-sis
(the act) ransom in full, that is, (figuratively) riddance, or (specifically) Christian salvation:
- deliverance, redemption.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7)
Glorification - Glorified (G1392) dox-ad'-zo
to render (or esteem) glorious (in a wide application): (make) glorify (-ious), full of (have)
glory, honour, magnify.
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be
that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans
8:17)
Inheritance (H5159) nakh-al-aw'
properly something inherited, that is, (abstractly) occupancy, or (concretely) an heirloom;
generally an estate, patrimony or portion: - heritage, to inherit, inheritance, possession.
Compare H5158.
And he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the
Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our
iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance." (Exodus 34:9)
then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people
Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and
grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an
inheritance. (2 Chronicles 6:27)
Inheritance (G2817) klay-ron-om-ee'-ah
heirship, that is, (concretely) a patrimony or (generally) a possession: - inheritance.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be
that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans
8:17)
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. (Matthew 25:34)
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is
able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who
are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to
the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:4-5)
so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to
the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7)

We have seen in these scriptures that those who are the elect, are predestined to
receive the gifts of grace and faith. Likewise, repentance and forgiveness of sins, are
gifts given by God. Justification, which is also a gift, can be defined as one's standing or
position in Christ, once we are saved. It is an act of God, in which the righteousness of
Christ is imputed to His elect by means of His shed blood, and thereby making the
payment for their sins. Sanctification is an act of God through the Holy Spirit which sets
us apart as holy. It begins at regeneration, or the new birth, and is a process of
cleansing, separation from the world, and becoming more and more holy. Redemption is
an act of God through which the elect are purchased with the blood of Christ. Although
the purchase of the elect was planned in eternity, the transaction was completed when
Christ shed His blood on the cross. Glorification is a transformation of the body of the
believer, which occurs at the resurrection of the elect. Those who have been saved
inherit promises which are contained in the covenants which God has made with Man.
These promises include the inheritance of land, blessings on earth, and resurrection to
eternal life in heaven with God. We would ask at this point, which of these elements is
not completely God's doing, and not completely in His control? (See a wonderful
synopsis by Matthew Henry in Appendix E ) When studying the bible, look carefully at
the verbs that are used in each clause. We can see when we read these verses that it is
God doing the action. He is the one who initiates our salvation, maintains it, and
ultimately, perfects it.

Chapter Two
Man's Nature
We can only properly investigate and understand the Holy Scriptures when there is a
right understanding of the nature of man. The improper understanding of man's nature is
a major source of error and confusion, which is prevalent in many of the pulpits in our
churches today. It has been well said that false doctrine is a result of either too high of a
view of man, or too low of a view of God. But what is the nature of man, and what are
man's properties? By nature we mean a set of principles out of which actions arise. We
will begin by looking first at the nature of man before his sin, or before what is commonly
referred to as The Fall. Man knew what God's will was for him. The Bible says that man
was made in the image of God:
And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: (Genesis
1:26a)
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he
made him in the likeness of God. (Genesis 5:1)
Man was created holy, righteous, and with a knowledge of the truth.
and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
We do not assert that man was created in Gods image with respect to his having a
soul, or to his rational or moral attributes. The scriptures tell us that God is a Spirit. A
wrong view regarding mans likeness to God would surely lead to error in doctrine. Man

was created to display Gods own character, by ruling righteously over creation. Man
was created with two natures; a human nature that was neither corrupted, nor inclined
toward evil, and a divine nature (See also, the further reading section - from The Works
of Jonathan Edwards). Adam was not born, he was created. Adam had the capacity to
do either good or evil, since he could act from either nature. Man also displays Gods
own nature regarding His fellowship with the other members of the Holy Trinity; the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Man was created to have fellowship with others of his own kind. God
made Eve, the first woman, to be with Adam as his helper, and charged them that they
not eat of the tree of good and evil, which stood in the midst of the garden:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill
the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
(Genesis 1:28)
But Man was not yet at his highest level. He was created with the ability to sin, to
choose to act out of his human nature, and to do evil.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every
tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)
Before Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, God walked with them, and had
fellowship with them. God had revealed Himself to man, and was in communion with
him. We would assume that for some period of time before the Fall, man worshiped God
with all his heart, and gave glory to God in all things. But that would change. Eve was

tempted by Satan, and believed his lies. She ate of the fruit, and she offered it to Adam
who also ate of the fruit. What were the effects of God's judgment which resulted from
Man's sin? How did sin affect man's nature? How did it affect man's ability and capacity
to love God, and to do God's will? Certainly, our view of the effects of Gods judgment on
man has impact on our understanding of man's relationship with God. It also shapes the
beliefs that we form about that relationship, and what we believe about the rest of what
the Bible teaches us. It affects our understanding of the person of God himself.
All sin, at the core, is unbelief. Charles Spurgeon says in his sermon of January 14,
1855,
And first the sin of unbelief will appear to be extremely heinous when we
remember that it is the parent of every other iniquity. There is no crime
which unbelief will not beget. I think that the fall of man is very much owing
to it. It was in this point that the devil tempted Eve. He said to her, "Yea,
hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" He whispered
and insinuated a doubt, "Yea, hath God said so?" as much as to say, "Are
you quite sure he said so?" It was by means of unbeliefthat thin part of
the wedgethat the other sin entered; curiosity and the rest followed; she
touched the fruit, and destruction came into this world. Since that time,
unbelief has been the prolific parent of all guilt.
It seems that Adam and Eve did not believe that God is the Most High God,
supremely in control, or that He rules justly. Their unbelief manifested itself in their
disobedience, rooted in pride. The primary result of man's pride, is his choice to do his

own will, instead of God's will for him. Adam and Eve believed that they had the power
and authority to direct their own course and to determine their own future. Man was
tempted by Satan according to God's will and purpose, but man chose to believe Satan's
lie regarding the benefits of choosing to do his own will instead of God's will for him.
When Satan tempted man, he offered him godlike power through perfect knowledge of
the truth. Regarding Satan's relationship with God, this was Satan's attempt to prove to
God that man would rather follow his advice than God's, thereby elevating him above
God. It is interesting to note that regarding man's relationship to God, the goal is the
same. By disobeying God, man was in effect saying that he did not need God, and that
he would rather choose to act on his own. Since his promised reward was perfect
knowledge of the truth, he would then be elevated to a position above God. Pride, in all
forms, is actually the exaltation of oneself.
But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows
that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)
It may be that the opening of man's eyes was not a reward. Perhaps, ironically, his
eyes were open to the corruption of his nature which was a result of his sin. Instead of
gaining perfect knowledge of the truth, they now had no knowledge of the real Truth
which is God Himself. Instead of being constantly in Gods presence, and walking with
Him in the garden, now God would have to reveal Himself in order to be seen at all. Their
eyes were open only to their own shame, but they were blind to see God.

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
(Genesis 3:7)
Although Adam and Eve's nakedness is referred to as physical, we should not
overlook the obvious symbolic reference to their awareness that their sin was now
exposed. The bible says that there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood.
But perhaps Adam and Eve repented and made their coverings for themselves out of
plants, but their thinking was already corrupted. We see that this attempt by man to
absolve himself of his sin did not involve sacrifice, and was in contrast to Christ's shed
blood which was to be the only efficacious sacrifice given for man's sin:
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without
the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was
necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these
rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are
copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as
the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for
then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the
world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:22-26)

We conclude then that man's thinking was distorted by his pride, exhibited in his
belief that his own remedy for his sin was sufficient. Far from knowing good and evil, as
Satan had falsely suggested, man now could not properly comprehend, or discover
spiritual truth, without divine intervention. He had totally lost the image of God. He had
lost his Father-son relationship.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are
spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they
be born, speaking lies. (Psalms 58:3)
We have all heard the verse:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
The wages of sin is death. What does that mean? It means that when Adam and
Eve chose to disobey God they were punished with separation from God, which is
spiritual death.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Romans
5:12)
Adams sin alienated all of mankind from God. Fellowship between man and God
was broken. He was no longer a son. Man came under the penalty of sin which is death.

Adam and Eve were driven from the presence of the LORD and no longer had direct
access to God in the Garden of Eden. Adams spiritual death was immediate while the
physical death came later. He was now, created in the image, of satan himself. When
Adam was banished from the presence of God, all of mankind was banished. In
theological terms, this is called federal headship, which means that as our
representative, the consequences of Adams choices are passed on to us as his
descendants. When Adam was driven away, a block was put at the Garden so no one
could enter. Adam was blocked so he could not obtain eternal life in the Garden, and
thus he would have eternal life in a sinful state. This would mean eternal separation
from God.
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to
know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of
the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent
him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was
taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the
way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)
When Adam disobeyed God, Adam was punished and his nature became
corrupted. Man became subject to physical death; but more tragic, he also became
spiritually dead, and he was left having only one nature, and that nature was evil. Death,
we should know, is not a partial state. It is total. Man's nature was evil as the Bible so
clearly says:

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
(Genesis 6:5)
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for
all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. (Genesis 6:11-12)
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I
will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the
imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite
any more every thing living, as I have done. (Genesis 8:21)
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they
have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Psalms
14:1)
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. (Matthew 7:18)
Among whom also we had our conversation in times past in the lusts of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Ephesians 2:3)
as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no
one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become
worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can
know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) KJV
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit
to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please
God. (Romans 8:7-8)
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk
as children of light (Ephesians 5:8)
This is man's condition even today. Although through salvation by God's grace many
shall be delivered, they are still under the bondage of corruption:
that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and
obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)
Natural Man is hopeless and helpless, and does not have the ability to love God, or
to approach Him. Man has literally inherited this condition through the very genes of
Adam. In theological terms, this is referred to as the seminal headship of Adam, since
the whole human race inherited his genes. This is referred to as original sin, due to
having its origins with Adam and Eve. Note that Christ did not have an earthly father,
therefore did could not inherit the sin gene.
Regarding original sin, George Whitefied (pronounced WHIT - field), the father of the
Great Awakening in England and America, says in this sermon The Method of Grace:

When the sinner is first awakened, he begins to wonder, How came I to be
so wicked? The Spirit of God then strikes in, and shows that he has no
good thing in him by nature; then he sees that he is altogether gone out of
the way, that he is altogether become abominable, and the poor creature is
made to live down at the foot of the throne of God, and to acknowledge that
God would be just to damn him, just to cut him off, though he never had
committed one actual sin in his life. Did you ever feel and experience this,
any of you _ to justify God in your damnation _ to own that you are by
nature children of wrath, and that God may justly cut you off, though you
never actually had offended him in all your life? If you were ever truly
convicted, if your hearts were ever truly cut, if self were truly taken out of
you, you would be made to see and feel this. And if you have never felt the
weight of original sin, do not call yourselves Christians. I am verily
persuaded original sin is the greatest burden of a true convert; this ever
grieves the regenerate soul, the sanctified soul. The indwelling of sin in the
heart is the burden of a converted person; it is the burden of a true
Christian. He continually cries out, O! who will deliver me from this body of
death,' this indwelling corruption in my heart? This is that which disturbs a
poor soul most. And, therefore, if you never felt this inward corruption, if
you never saw that God might justly curse you for it, indeed, my dear
friends, you may speak peace to your hearts, but I fear, nay, I know, there
is no true peace.

Man's will conforms to, or is limited, by his nature. One definition of the will is given
by Jonathan Edwards in his work, Edwards-On Freedom of the Will, as follows:
And therefore I observe, that the Will (without any metaphysical refining) is
that by which the mind chooses anything. The faculty of the Will, is that
power, or principle of mind, by which it is capable of choosing: an act of the
Will is the same as an act of choosing or choice.
In order to have free will, man must have both desire for a certain outcome, and
also the ability to affect that outcome. Man is able to make choices, but cannot
necessarily control the outcome of those choices. As we know, there are many things we
cannot control. The real question is not whether man can choose, but can he, by this
choices, control his environment, himself; his destiny? As we have seen in the
Scriptures, Adam (Man) was created with a desire to be with God, to fellowship with Him,
and he was created with a nature that had love towards God. But as a result of his sin,
God took away divine nature which was first abiding in him. Man can no longer act from
that nature, because it is dead. The choices he makes now are only within the scope of
his corrupt nature, and he has no desire for things outside of that nature. He no longer
has a desire to be with God or to know Him. Furthermore his nature now does not allow
him to act independently to do good. Of course man can do that which is morally good
from the viewpoint of society. He can give money to charity, help restore health to
people, and contribute in a meaningful way to many worthwhile causes, but he now has
neither the desire nor ability to love God. Dear reader, how will you recover that which
God Himself has taken away?

Again from George Whitefield:
Nature cannot act above itself - It is impossible that a man that is
unconverted can act for the glory of God, he cannot do anything in faith, for
whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Indeed our deists tell us, that man now has
a free will to do well, to love God, and to repent when he will: but indeed
there is no free will in any of you, but to sin, nay, your free will leads you so
far, that you would if possible, pull God from his throne. We are no freer to
love God and fellowship with him than a prisoner in maximum security is
free to roam the streets. We are prisoners of our corrupt nature; bound by
our evil desires. When divine intervention is absent, man's will is directed to
serve himself exclusively. The desire of man is self-centered, not God-
centered. Mans love for God is blocked, much like the entrance to the
Garden of Eden is blocked by a flaming sword.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the
cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to
the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24)
Real life, eternal life, is knowing God, and loving him.
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
It is of utmost importance that we realize that man's nature is not partially evil and
corrupt, but totally corrupt, lacking any capacity to do good, to please God, or to love

God. Without accepting this premise, we are unable to truly understand the Bible, or to
make sense of it. If man at this point has some capacity to do good, or to love God, then
there would be hope for man. He would be without the need of a Redeemer. He would
just have to work harder, do better, and basically never sin to receive eternal life. We will
never eat the fruit of tree of life without Gods permission, and without a new nature.
Reader, do you not see the hopelessness and helplessness of your condition? God have
mercy on us. Please Lord let us know you. Reveal yourself to us and give us a new
nature, that we may love you, worship you, serve, and give you glory. Forgive us for the
sin which has separated us from you. Amen
Chapter Three
How is Man Judged?
Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31)
God judges man according to the law. Very simply, man is judged by these two
things; his lack of love for God, and by his evil deeds toward his fellow man.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of
life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according

to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death
and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged,
each one of them, according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12-13)
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for
this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, I will judge
each of you according to his ways." (Ezekiel 33:20)
He will render to each one according to his works: (Romans 2:6)
so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that
perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:7)
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each
one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your
exile, (1 Peter 1:17)
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under
the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be
held accountable to God. (Romans 3:19)
For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so
by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans
5:19)

Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things
are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that
do them. (Romans 1:32)
We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such
things. (Romans 2:2)
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for
yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be
revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: (Romans 2:5-
6)
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people
loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
(John 3:19)
Christ has been given the authority to judge fallen man. He says that man will be
resurrected to judgment based on whether they have done good or bad. This is judgment
according to the law of Moses.
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to
have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment,
because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming
when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who
have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to
the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:26-29)

Yet God says that no one is good;
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is
none who does good, not even one. (Psalms 14:3)
And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except
God alone. (Luke 18:19)
Chafer and others say that we are condemned to hell by rejecting Christ, and not for
sins committed, because those sins are already forgiven. However, as we have
discovered, man is indeed judged by his sins. And if rejecting Christ is the only sin for
which we are judged as he contends, then we are not truly forgiven of all of our sins; we
would be forgiven of all except the one which would damn us. That would not be true
forgiveness. And as we have already seen, Man by nature cannot accept Christ without
divine intervention, so that none would be saved by this rule; for we would all reject Him.
Man is condemned by his very nature, and in his conscience he knows this. The
sentence of death was passed upon all men, even before the Mosaic Law, and more
specifically here, upon the Gentiles who had not been given the Law of Moses. There
are some even now, that know not of that Law which was written on tables of stone, yet
the law of God is written in the hearts of all men.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the
doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have
the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves,
even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law
is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and

their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when,
according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
(Romans 2:13-16)
Again, we see in chapter twenty-five of Matthew from the Olive Discourse Jesus
speaks of judgment upon man not for what they believed about Christ, but because of
the way they treated fellow Jews:
Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to
you?' (Matthew 25:44)
In John chapter 6 we see a discourse regarding the works and testimony of
Jesus, and a focus on judgment regarding those who did not believe on
him:
On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw
that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered
the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.
(John 6:22)
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not
because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not
labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set
his seal." (John 6:26-27)

What does this link between the Father and the Son have to do with judgment? Of
course; it is more than a link, it is equality. The Jews understood judgment as pertaining
to the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments. Not to honor the Father, would be
breaking the first commandment. While it is certainly true that to reject Christ would be to
reject the Father and dishonor Him, therefore breaking the law, this is quite different from
saying that breaking the first commandment, is the only sin which condemns us and
separates us from God; Man is already condemned.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the
world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their
works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and
does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:18-
20)
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the
Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and
with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You
have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." (Luke 10:25-28)
Now, you might say that this verse proves that we are condemned because we
dont believe in the person and work of Christ as God in the flesh, as if its because we

choose not to believe. But first of all, the Greek word here can also be translated, in
that. It is our condition not by choice, but by nature. Secondly, Jesus goes on to say that
the condemnation also based on our deeds. Our nature condemns us because we are
born with that nature which does NOT believe, and we act out of that nature in an evil
way!
and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which
you could not be freed by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39)
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become
accountable for all of it. (James 2:10)
held accountable to God. (Romans 3:19)
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through
faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to
be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works
of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
Here we see that to believe is to have faith. We know that faith is a gift, and so
believing is likewise a gift. Only those who are chosen by God to be saved are forgiven
of all of their sins, and this includes even the sin of hating and rejecting God. Only Jesus
Himself can make a man free, and when He does so, He does it completely. Note for the

sake of future reference, that while not keeping the law condemns us, keeping the law
does not save us!
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:40)
I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. (John
5:43)
We see this again in the following verse:
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who
accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. (John 5:45)
Jesus is saying that even though man will not receive Him, He will not accuse them
before the Father because of it. Man already stands accused. It is the law of Moses
which condemns man. It is free, sovereign grace, which justifies. If Jesus is not God in
the flesh, then it would not be a sin to not believe in Him. It would not break the
commandments. Yet Jesus refers to the judgment associated with not believing on Him.
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am
he you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
Jesus equates Himself with God the Father by saying:
And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world
as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If
anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I
did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects

me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have
spoken will judge him on the last day. (John 12:45-48)
What word is Jesus referring to? Jesus refers here to His deity, His equality with the
Father. While in the previous verses, and in the first use of the word in the phrase, If
anyone hears my words, the word word refers to something spoken, while its use here
in the next phrase, The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a
judge, is the same as that in John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. (John 1:1)
Jesus is saying that their disbelief in Him belies their disbelief in God, which violates
the Mosaic Law, and the Natural Law that existed before the Mosaic Law. But there is
nothing in the verse here, that forces the interpretation that their belief or disbelief is by
their choice. Note that Jesus did not come into the world to judge the world. He came
into the world to die. But He will indeed come back again to judge the world in, or based
on, righteousness.

Chapter Four
Gods Glory
God's will naturally follows His purpose
It can be said that on the most basic level, Gods will is to glorify Himself in all things.
God made all things for Himself.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things
were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)
the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
Yet you did not call upon me.. (Isaiah 43:21-22)
The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the
day of trouble. (Proverbs 16:4)
that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has
welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:6-7)
All people are commanded to glorify God
for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1
Corinthians 6:20)
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today
shall be on your heart. (Deuteronomy 6:5-6)
And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among
the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, (Leviticus 22:32)

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one
another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which
commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most
important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:28-30)
There are many scriptures in the bible which give us knowledge of how God is
glorified. Let us look at some of these verses.
God is glorified in setting up an eternal kingdom on the earth
Most of us are familiar with the Lords prayer, found in Matthew chapter six. It
shows us that Gods will to be glorified (as associated with His name), is manifested in
His setting up an eternal kingdom on earth so that all His people will worship and glorify
Him forever.
Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your
kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew
6:9-10)
God is glorified by revealing Himself to Man
God's will is for His people to know His name, that He might be glorified.
I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my
praise to carved idols. (Isaiah 42:8)
Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall
know that it is I who speak; here am I. (Isaiah 52:6)

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to
them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me,
'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM
WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent
me to you. (Exodus 3:13-14)
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among
the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a
pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the
LORD of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be
profaned? My glory I will not give to another. (Isaiah 48:11)
Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have
glorified it, and I will glorify it again." (John 12:28)
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother,
saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)
God is glorified in His People
the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
(Isaiah 43:21)

Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among
those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will
be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:3)
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I
formed and made. (Isaiah 43:7)
And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be
glorified.(Isaiah 49:3)
to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress
instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of
praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of
righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. (Isaiah
61:3)
when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be
marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you
was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)
Gods' will in choosing a people for Himself is indicated to us in the Bible as I will be
their God and they shall be My people. It is perhaps the single phrase which underlies
all of God's dealings with man. It is eye opening to take note of the passages in the bible
which contain God's awesome, I will. Where these words are found, they are often used
with words describing the fulfillment of the promises and the blessings of the covenant of

grace. It clearly testifies to God's sovereignty, and gives the reader much on which to
joyfully meditate. It clearly shows that it is God who is doing the action, not man.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and
kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me
and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And
I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your
sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will
be their God. (Genesis 17:6-8)
I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know
that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the
burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:7)
For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to
this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant
them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that
I am the LORD: and they shall be my people and I will be their God: for
they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (Jeremiah 24:6-7)
Thus says the LORD of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east
country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in
faithfulness and in righteousness. (Zechariah 8:7-8)

By eternal decree in His discriminating love, God has says that He will give His
people a new heart and a new nature, a nature that will love and obey him.
And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one
heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and
the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting
covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put
the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. (Jeremiah
32:38-40)
I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and
bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you
shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will
cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put
within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the
land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be
your God. (Ezekiel 36:24-28)
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with
their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save
them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will
cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel
37:23)

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in
their hearts: and they shall be to me a people: (Hebrews 8:10)
and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be
my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.
(Zechariah 8:8)
It is quite interesting here to see the word selection where it says, I will when
referring to God but they shall when referring to man. When God wills something it shall
be done. Here, in the verses we have just examined, we see that the forgiveness,
obedience, and destiny of God's people are of His own will and purpose. The rest of
mankind will go the way of its nature. It is certainly difficult to comprehend that this is
also within God's will and purpose. But what God allows is indeed God's will, and God is
to be glorified in all He does and all He allows.
God is glorified in miracles of physical healing
God's healing of certain ones is symbolic of the spiritual healing that He gives by His
grace through the faith which He bestows on those He chooses.
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins"--he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, pick up your bed and go
home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were
afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
(Matthew 9:6-8)

so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the
crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified
the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)
And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight,
and she glorified God. (Luke 13:13)
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with
a loud voice glorified God (Luke 17:15) KJV uses praised God, in ESV
Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying,
Certainly this was a righteous man. (Luke 23:47) KJV KJV uses praised
God, in ESV
And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do
you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power
or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus,
whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he
had decided to release him. (Acts 3:12-13)
God is glorified in the fulfillment of His promises
Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
(Isaiah 60:21)

God is glorified in the judgment of the wicked
They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to
that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all
remembrance of them. But you have increased the nation, O LORD, you
have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the
borders of the land. (Isaiah 26:14-15)
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
and I will manifest my glory in your midst. And they shall know that I am the
LORD when I execute judgments in her and manifest my holiness in her;
(Ezekiel 28:22)
With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I
will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him
torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness
and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations.
Then they will know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 38:22-23)
All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on
the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:13)
God is glorified when His people live in harmony and welcome one another
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such
harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you
may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory
of God. (Romans 15:5-7)
God is glorified when we sing His praises together as the body of Christ
and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is
written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your
name." And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." And
again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him."
(Romans 15:9-11)
God is glorified in the fruitfulness of His people
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be
my disciples. (John 15:8)
God is glorified in the fulfillment of His promises
Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
(Isaiah 60:21)
God is glorified in the suffering of His children
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the
Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:14)
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify God in that name. (1 Peter 4:16)

God is glorified in the death of His children
(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And
after saying this he said to him, "Follow me. (John 21:19)
God is glorified in the prayers of His people
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)
God is glorified in His Son
..the fullest expression of God and His glory come in the person and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ .. (Rev Dan McManigal)
And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
(Isaiah 49:3)
Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did
not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the
Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. (Isaiah 55:5)
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (Luke 4:15)
Jesus says in the verses that follow:
...When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven,
and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may
glorify you, (John 17:1)
whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as
one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in

everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:11)
When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and
God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in
himself, and glorify him at once. (John 13:31-32)
Jesus is glorified as God the Son
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of
our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and
denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
(Acts 3:13)
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. (Luke 4:15)
But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is
for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
(John 11:4)
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was
glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about
him and had been done to him. (John 12:16)
And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. (John 12:23)

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to
do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I
had with you before the world existed. (John 17:4-5)
I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me
to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that
I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:4-5)

Chapter Five
Gods will
God's will is to bless man on earth
And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the
earth." (Genesis 1:28)
One cult in particular focuses on this last verse as the primary or sole purpose of
man however; it is more accurately what man is meant to do while fulfilling God's
purpose. They are actually blessings bestowed on man while he is in service to God.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it
and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may
surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of

good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17)
God's will is to give eternal life to the elect through the blood of Christ
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and
believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last
day." (John 6:40)
God's will is to purify and sanctify the church
so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
(Ephesians 5:27)
The church is the body of Christ which is made up of those who God has called to
believe in Him. It should be noted that the verses which refer to the called, the elect,
etc., speak to God's will for the church, however we will present here verses which deal
directly with God's will for the church.
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
(Colossians 1:18)
God's will is for His church to bring forth fruit which is the evidence of faith
Gods people love each other and all people in general because of the love they
have for Christ.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of
Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from
the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:4)
Ultimately, the church is to be conformed to the image and likeness of Christ,
reflecting His glory.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom
he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Romans 8:29-30)
God's will is that His children will pray to Him, and thank Him for everything
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the
best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be
foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk
with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything
to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one
another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-21)

Man cannot resist God's will
In spite of man's inability to choose Him, God has chosen a people for Himself and in
doing so He glorifies Himself. God has said:
Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no
one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no
power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers
a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst. (Isaiah 50:2)
How then can man resist God's will, if He chooses to save? And if God chooses to
destroy, is man able to prevent Him? You may say rightly, that all men resist God's will.
Yes, by nature they do. But God's will prevails over those who He intends to save. For
the others, God allows their own sinful will to prevail.
For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come
against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction
and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD
commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:20)
At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to
death. (Exodus 4:24)
I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I
am the LORD, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)
We do not assert that God is the author of sin. This verse is perhaps best
understood by examining the last clause, which says, I the LORD do all these things.

God directs the affairs and hence, the destiny of every man. Perhaps the most prominent
example of God choosing to destroy man, is given in Genesis when He caused the Flood
to destroy all but eight persons on earth.
So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face
of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens,
for I am sorry that I have made them. (Genesis 6:7)
For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights,
and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the
ground. (Genesis 7:4)
We present these verses here to help us understand the true nature of the God of
the Bible. Many cannot believe this side of the nature of God, and are led by their own
error into confusion and false religion.
The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which
he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made
the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.
(Lamentations 2:17)
Look, O LORD, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women
eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest
and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? In the dust of the streets
lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen

by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering
without pity. (Lamentations 2:20-21)
It could be supposed that God allowed even those who believed on Him to die with
those who didn't, but the writer the book of Lamentations knew that God was justified in
allowing this.
The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all
you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men
have gone into captivity. (Lamentations 1:18)
Some will surely say, I cannot believe in a God that would do that to His own
people. There are some that think, I would never do this to my own children. This is
perhaps the beginning of man creating his own god, a god created in his own image. No
dear reader, we must not do that. We must accept what God has revealed about
Himself. God loves His own far more than we, as humans, can love each other. And do
we not as parents, correct our children out of love, in order to teach them to obey and to
respect us? We must not be hasty to form a personal opinion about God. It is the root of
false teaching. Of course it is pride which is the root of all false teaching, but our pride
would cause us to imagine that we know more about what God should be like, than that
which He has revealed to us.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9)

We must empty ourselves of our preconceived notions and beliefs. Let the Holy
Spirit guide us in our reading of His word, and we will come to know the God of the Bible
better. Even if we cannot always understand why God acts in a certain way, we must
simply stand it awe and know that God is indeed righteous and just in all He does.
Chapter Six
Covenants
While Christ and His work of redemption is the center of the bible, and the fullest
expression of Gods glory, God has chosen to relate to the people He has created
through covenants. The covenants are the vehicle by which God takes man from a state
of sinfulness, and brings him into a state of grace. Covenants in the bible, are divinely
sanctioned commitments, where God has either made the commitment, or has
witnessed it. These commitments are a type of legal arrangement, which have a binding
nature; a transaction which is ratified by an oath, and which comes with blessings for
mans continuation in the covenant agreement, and curses for breaking the covenant
conditions. Broadly speaking, all of Scripture is covered by three God initiated
covenants; the covenant of works, the covenant of grace, and the covenant of
redemption (Some theologians consider only two covenants; the covenant of works, and
the covenant of grace).
Regarding the covenant of works, let us return to the Garden of Eden and examine
the state of man there. Man was not in a state of eternal bliss but may attain to it by his
works; acting out of his good (divine) nature, through his obedience to God. And yet he

could sin and thereby bring death upon himself and all his descendants. His freedom
was mutable. He was not at his highest state, which would be to do good only, as Christ
Himself. The first, or Old, covenant was made with Adam, the first man, and the New
covenant was made with the second God-man, Jesus Christ. The first covenant was
broken by mans disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The New Covenant was kept
through the perfect, sinless life of Jesus Christ, and His death gave His elect, the church,
the reward of eternal life, and everlasting fellowship with the church, to the glory of God.
These covenants, the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant, should not be confused
with the Old, and the New, Testaments in the bible. Under the covenant of grace, both
the Old and the New Testament of the Bible have to do with salvation by grace alone,
good works as the fruit of a real and living faith, and the expansion of the kingdom of
God.
You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with
your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families
of the earth be blessed.' God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you
first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. (Acts
3:25-26)
"and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
(Romans 11:27)
The covenant of redemption is different from the others in that it was not made with
man. It was made between the members of the Godhead; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It
therefore could not be broken by man. In establishing the covenant of redemption with

His Son, Jesus Christ, God accomplished His will of choosing a people for Himself (See
appendix F). The covenant of redemption was planned by God from eternity past, and
was not an afterthought or an alternative to the broken covenant of works. Christ
Himself would represent Gods chosen ones (and even more, be in union with them),
and would be the one to perfectly keep the covenant that God made with Adam, since
He alone was unable to sin. Hence eternal life for man (His elect) would be achieved,
giving glory to God.
The covenant of grace was made after sin entered the world, and is the progressive
historical account of the administration of the Gospel in the history of redemption. It can
be thought of as an overflow of the Covenant of Redemption into the life of man after the
Fall. Thought the covenant was made with man, Christ is said to be the mediator of the
covenant. By His sinless life and sacrificial death, He fulfilled the terms of covenant in
our place. The Covenant of Grace is a covenant that put into force by the death of Christ
and the shedding of His blood, which was the seal of the covenant. While the covenant
of redemption has to do with the acquiring of salvation, the covenant of grace has to do
with imparting of salvation. Woven into the fabric of the covenant of grace, God made
several covenants with His people Israel and with man in general. They may be
considered the historical development or unfolding of Gods plan to redeem His people,
the elect, and to establish His kingdom on earth, to His glory. God made three
unconditional covenants with His people, Israel: the Abrahamic, Palestinian, and Davidic
covenants. They were to be fulfilled regardless of Israel's obedience or disobedience.
God made the Mosaic Covenant with Israel through Moses, and it is conditional in

nature. There are associated blessings or curses, depending on Israel's obedience or
disobedience. The relationship between the Mosaic Covenant and the Covenant of
Works itself is one that bible scholars are still exploring. The Noahic Covenant, and the
New Covenant, God made with mankind in general, and are not limited to the nation of
Israel. The New Covenant was a further unfolding of the covenant that God made with
Abraham.
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the
covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke,
though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the
LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince
among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. "I will make with them a
covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may
dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. (Ezekiel 34:24-
25)
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and
my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and

honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; (Daniel 4:34)
Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in
my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to
this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my
people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that
they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children
after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn
away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts,
that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will
plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. "For
thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this
people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.
(Jeremiah 32:37-42)
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares
the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
(Hebrews 10:16-17)
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent
than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on
better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would
have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them

when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will
establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of
Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when
I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did
not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them,
declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their
minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and
each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their
iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." In speaking of a new
covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete
and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:6-13)
One of the primary features of God's covenant with His people is the forgiveness of
their sins. Those who have their sins taken away are those whom God has chosen to be
in covenant with Him.
place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18)
In Galatians chapter three we are told of the two covenants:

Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants.
One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
(Galatians 4:24)
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. (Galatians 4:26)
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. (Galatians 4:28)
Now, clearly not everyone is of the covenant of faith, not everyone has been turned
away from their sins. This is God's choice and God's doing. He said Abraham would be a
father of many nations, not all nations.
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according
to promise. (Galatians 3:29)
Abraham's belief in God's promise was counted as righteousness to him by God and
was written that we might also have faith in God and His promises.
The forgiveness of sins is not universal. It is only for those in covenant with God by
His own eternal decree. It comes about when God implants a new nature in those He
saves. The new nature is a divine nature and with it comes faith in Christ as Redeemer.
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of
the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from
works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose
sins are covered; (Romans 4:5-7)

The New Covenant not only includes the forgiveness of sins, but promises eternal
life in fellowship with God. It is a covenant of redemption.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--
for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- so that in
Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that
we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has
occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the
first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)
This verse contains in it a description of salvation. According to the terms of the New
Covenant, Christ died for those which are called, and they are to receive the promise of
eternal inheritance, or eternal life. We tend to think that the Old Testament, and the
New Testament, refer to specific time periods. As a result, we see the chosen people of
God, Israel, as being different than the church of today. Actually, the law of Moses is the
only covenant referred to as old, in the New Testament (2 Cor. 3:14; cf. Heb. 8:6, 13).
Robert L. Reymond says in his paper called Five Arguments for the Unity of the
Covenant of Grace (See reference in Appendix of Resources),
These passages of Scripture make it clear that the promises of God,
covenantally given to Abraham, that he would be the God of Abraham and
of his (spiritual) descendants after him forever (Gen. 17:7-8) extend
temporally to the farthest reaches of the future and include within their

compass the entire community of the redeemed. This is just to say that the
Abrahamic covenant, in the specific prospect it holds forth of the salvation
of the entire church of God, is identical with the soteric program of the
covenant of grace, indeed, is identical with the covenant of grace itself. It
also means specifically that the blessings of the covenant of grace which
believers enjoy today under the sanctions of the New Testament economy
are founded upon the covenant which God made with Abraham. Said
another way, the new covenant itself is simply the administrative
extension and unfolding of the Abrahamic covenant. Thus the temporal
and spiritual reach of the Abrahamic covenant establishes and secures the
organic unity and continuity of the one church of God composed of the
people of God living both before and after the cross.
Redemption is the imputed righteousness of Christ. In this way, Christ lives in the
believer; the one who has faith in Him, and faith in what He did on the cross. Before
Christ went to die on the cross, He said this to his disciples:
Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my
Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and
keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." (John 14:19-21)
that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that
they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent

me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may
be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may
become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and
loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom
you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you
have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O
righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you,
and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name,
and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have
loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:21-26)
Christ lives supernaturally in every believer, and with respect to our sinful nature,
God only sees His righteous son when He looks upon His children. Before we leave the
discussion of covenants, it should be noted that there is a unity of the covenants with
regard to the sacraments; every covenant having a sign, which is the sacrament
associated with it. John Calvin, who we will mention later, contributed much in his works,
to this. For example, he suggested that the tree in the Garden of Eden was a sign of the
covenant of works, not that the tree of life actually gave eternal life, but that it was a sign
and seal of a covenant promise. Please see in further reading, J. Ligon Duncan, III - 12
Lectures on the biblical, theological, and historical study of Gods Covenants, and What
is Covenant Theology.
The study of covenants is complex, yet of utmost importance in dealing with the
study of the bible and Gods plan for the redemption of His people. In the 1640s the

early church put together a statements of its beliefs, (The Westminster Shorter
Catechism, The Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger
Catechism), which were built on covenant theology. Please do not be discouraged by
the depth of some of these discussions. Always rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you in
your own studies, and to teach you what you are meant to know. We have already said
that we dont know all the answers, and although some teachings are plainly taught,
others are still being revealed to those who explore the riches of Gods word further.

Chapter Seven
God's Chosen People
When we hear the phrase God's chosen people, we immediately think of the Jewish
nation. But God took the kingdom away from them because of their idolatry, and gave it
to another people. True Israel, the church, is the body of Christ; the temple, or tabernacle
of God.
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and
given to a people producing its fruits. (Matthew 21:43)
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to
be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a
nation that was not called by my name. (Isaiah 65:1)
For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth
and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate

one will be more than those of the one who has a husband." Now you,
brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. (Galatians 4:27-28)
God explains it here:
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are
descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham
because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be
named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return,
and Sarah shall have a son." And not only so, but also when Rebekah had
conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not
yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's
purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of
him who calls (Romans 9:6-11)
Let us take a moment to examine some of the words which refer to Gods people.
Chosen (H972) baw-khar'
A primitive root; properly to try, that is, (by implication) select: - acceptable, appoint,
choose (choice), excellent, join, be rather, require.
You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord GOD
will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name. (Isaiah
65:15)

In the New Testament, the first mention of the word elect, comes from Matthew
24:22:
And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But
for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:22)
The Bible says that man does not choose God, but God chooses man.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16)
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he
is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and
chosen and faithful." (Revelation 17:14)
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
God has chosen those to whom He wishes to be revealed. To those, He imparts an
understanding of Himself and His ways. They know Him because it is the divine nature
which is given them.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows
who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and
anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Luke 10:22)

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a
spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes
of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he
has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
(Ephesians 1:17-18)
and he said to Korah and all his company, "In the morning the LORD will
show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one
whom he chooses he will bring near to him. (Numbers 16:5)
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We
shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your
temple! (Psalms 65:4)
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according
to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble
birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God
chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is
low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing
things that are, (1 Corinthians 1:26-28)
The inheritance is in the covenant, and the God of the covenant determines the
destiny of His people. Did God make a covenant with everyone? Does everyone have an
inheritance that, all he has to do is claim? This is certainly a popular belief and teaching
found in many of our churches today. But we find that in the bible, God's covenants are
always with a special and specific group of people. He refers to this group throughout the

bible by names such as, elect, sheep, the Church, the Bride, my people, the
remnant, the called, the chosen, and others.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the
heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they
who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and
my righteousness will never be dismayed. (Isaiah 51:6)
So the last will be first, and the first last. (Matthew 20:16)
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he
is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and
chosen and faithful.
(Revelation 17:14)
including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in
Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:6-7)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom
he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those
whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also
justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

In a sense, our decision for Christ was made for us, before we were born; and it
was made by GOD, before the world existed, without even consulting us! We were
adopted according to God's will, not our own will.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
(Ephesians 1:3)
Paul acknowledges that God set him apart for salvation, and chose him before he
was born:
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me
by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might
preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
(Galatians 1:15-16)
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God
chosen and precious, (1 Peter 2:4)
And again, God chooses us, we do not choose Him.
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. (Matthew 25:34)

and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not
been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the
Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:8)
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the
bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose
names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the
world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to
come. (Revelation 17:8)
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but
because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus
before the ages began, (2 Timothy 1:9)
good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
We stop there but look at the verses which follow.
(Romans 8:29-30)
The ASV translation has the first verse:

For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: (Romans
8:29)
Remember that from our previous study, the meaning of predestine, from Thayer's
Lexicon of Greek words:
1) to predetermine, decide beforehand
2) in the NT of God decreeing from eternity
3) to foreordain, appoint beforehand
The following verse uses the same word to tell us that Christ was foreordained to
come to earth as a man, to lead a sinless life, and to die for the salvation of Gods elect.
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or
spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made
manifest in the last times for the sake of you (1 Peter 1:19-20)
Did God just look down the corridors of time and see what we would do, what
choices we would make, and what Christ would do? Or did He cause it? How could God
predestine something to happen, without foreordaining it? Christs death was planned,
and likewise our salvation was planned.
Elect (H972) - Chosen (H972) baw-khar'
A primitive root; properly to try, that is, (by implication) select: - acceptable, appoint,
choose (choice), excellent, join, be rather, require.
We see that the same Hebrew word is used for both elect, and chosen.

The first instance in the Bible of the word elect as it applies to man, is in Isaiah
45:4:
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your
name, I name you, though you do not know me. (Isaiah 45:4)
"Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last. (Isaiah 48:12)
I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my
mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.
(Isaiah 65:9)
I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will
prosper in his way. (Isaiah 48:15)
He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
(Psalms 47:4)
Elect (G1588) ek-lek-tos'
select; by implication favorite: - chosen, elect.
It is the same in the Greek of the New Testament:
So the last will be first, and the first last. (Matthew 20:16)
The elect, the ones who God has made the New Covenant with, the ones
purchased, the called, are known and chosen in Christ before the world was made. They
are to receive the gift of eternal life, not as a result of anything good in them, or as a
result of a decision that they will make. It is God's choice to save them. Everything

which is manifested in them regarding salvation is a result of God's will, and His choice.
We often think that x, y, and z, equals salvation. If we do this, this, and this, we can be
saved. But it is not so. It is the gift of salvation which produces all these things in a
person.
Sheep (G4263) prob'-at-on
something that walks forward (a quadraped)
It is true that Christ was sent first to the people of the nation of Israel.
He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
(Matthew 15:24)
But when the Jews rejected Jesus, he turned to teach and preach the gospel to the
whole world and to people of every nation and tribe. The lost sheep refer to His sheep;
the ones that hear His voice and know Him. Christ goes to get His sheep, and not any
others.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the
sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them
also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one
shepherd. (John 10:14-16)
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal
covenant,

(Hebrews 13:20)
We clearly see that the word sheep, cannot refer to all the world as to mean, each
and every one, since the sheep are separated when Christ returns; some to heaven and
some to everlasting separation from God.
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people
one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And
he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King
will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
(Matthew 25:32-34)
Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41)
People (H5971) am
a people (as a congregated unit); specifically a tribe (as those of Israel); hence
(collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively a flock: - folk, men, nation, people.
The first instance of the phrase, my people, referring to Gods people, is found in
Exodus Chapter three, verse seven:
Then the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who
are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know
their sufferings, (Exodus 3:7)

He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in
the tents of Ham. Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in
the wilderness like a flock. (Psalms 78:51-52)
For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep
and will seek them out. (Ezekiel 34:11)
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that
they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel
34:30)
Friend (G5384) fee'-los
Properly dear, that is, a friend; actively fond, that is, friendly (still as a noun, an
associate, neighbor, etc.): - friend.
Christ gave his life for his friends:
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:13-14)
Perhaps you think that this means that you can be a friend of Jesus if you do
whatever Jesus commands. But Jesus is speaking to ones that have already been
chosen, and are already His friends. In the verses that follow this is very clear. If Jesus
has revealed Himself to you, and made known to you the things of God, then you are
indeed His friend. Jesus is not saying that in order to be His friend, you must do what He
commands, but rather He is saying that their willingness to obey Him will reveal their true
identity. His friends will naturally obey.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his
master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from
my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit
should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may
give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one
another. (John 15:15-17)
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to
be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a
nation that was not called by my name. (Isaiah 65:1)

Chapter Eight
For God so loved the world
Nearly everyone is familiar with this verse, which is found written in the book of John:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Two words in this verse are found throughout the New Testament, and they can be,
and are, translated various ways. One, is the word, world, and the other is,
whosoever, which have been put in italics. The word used here whosoever, is the
same Greek word that is translated, all, in English, and it is quite useful to study the

definitions and uses of these Greek words. Perhaps this type of study seems tedious, or
even boring, but it is absolutely necessary if we are to understand what the text is
conveying to us. If we simply apply our own meaning to a text, we will certainly end up
with doctrines that are heretical, and not in line with what the bible really says.
World (G2889) kos'-mos
orderly arrangement, that is, decoration; by implication the world (in a wide or narrow
sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively [morally]): - adorning, world.
There are many definitions for the word world in the Greek, and its use is different in
the passages in which the word is found. We examine Thayers Definition:
1) an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government
2) ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e., the arrangement of the stars, 'the heavenly
hosts', as the ornament of the heavens. 1Peter 3:3
3) the world, the universe
4) the circle of the earth, the earth
5) the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family
6) the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore
hostile to the cause of Christ
7) world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly
7a) the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures, etc,
which although they are hollow and frail and fleeting, they stir desire, seduce men away
from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ
8) any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort
8a) the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews (Romans 11:12 etc)

8b) of believers only, John 1:29; John 3:16; John 3:17; John 6:33; John 12:47
1Corinthians 4:9; 2Corinthians 5:19
God certainly loves what He created. He loves man, the human family. God loves all
kinds of people of the world, both Jews and Gentiles. This is the good news; that Christ
the Messiah has come, not only for the Jews who were chosen to be God's servants and
spokesmen on earth, but also to the Gentiles, the body of believers also called, the
church. We find Jesus in John Chapter 17, not praying for the world, but for those given
to him by God the Father:
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom
you have given me, for they are yours. (John 17:9)
And in other verses:
"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God
has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the
peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has
chosen as his heritage! (Psalms 33:12)
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of
Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and
called from its farthest corners, saying to you, You are my servant, I have
chosen you and not cast you off (Isaiah 41:8-9)

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I
have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am
he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. (Isaiah
43:10)
God's elect are no longer, of the world, since they are chosen out of the world, and
separated unto Himself.
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because
you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the
world hates you. (John 15:19)
These verses in John which mention the world indicate that only those chosen out of
the world will be saved. Jesus is saying that eternal life is to know Christ, and that this
knowledge Jesus gives specifically to those that the Father gives Him. God has chosen
to reveal Himself to His elect, those chosen out of the world system.
"I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the
world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your
word. (John 17:6)
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and
said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify
you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to
all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on

earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. (John 17:1-
4)
the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of
the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. (Matthew 13:11)
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the
kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in
parables: (Mark 4:11)
The world will never know God as His chosen people do.
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be
in you. (John 14:17)
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast
out. (John 12:31)
Certainly, in the following verse the word, world cannot mean each and every
person.
So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining
nothing. Look, the world has gone after him." (John 12:19)

In the same sense, Jesus did not mean each and every person would be drawn to
Him.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
(John 12:32)
On your own, do a study of the word world, and you will discover that when taken in
context, its scope is varied, and we must not force it's meaning to fit our own thinking. If
God loved each and every one with a saving love, then they would all love Him. For who
can resist God's love?
We love him, because he first loved us (I John 4:19)
All (Whosoever) (G3956) pas
Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the
whole: - all (manner of, means) alway (-s), any (one), X daily, + ever, every (one, way),
as many as, + no (-thing), X throughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever.
The Greek word for all, is the same Greek word used for the word, whosoever, and
the translations of both of these words has caused much confusion. Consider the verse
in 1Timothy 2:4.
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
We see that while it is true that the word all in this context could be interpreted as
whosover, or every one, it can also be interpreted as all manner of and as many as.
In the second chapter of Timothy, Paul uses the word all, frequently. It almost seems as
if Paul is trying to say something to us by using the word in so many different ways,

sometimes in the same verse. He says in verse one, first of all, which probably means
foremost. In the same verse he says all men, referring to giving thanks for them i.e. for
their salvation so, in this case it is a limited, or specific group. In verse two he again uses
the word twice, and with two different meanings. When he says, all that are in authority,
he means each and every one, of course. (Please see the excellent article 1 Timothy 2:4
- An Exegesis by Alan Kurschner listed in the section on resources ) But also in the
verse he uses a phrase which he uses often such as in all godliness. This phrase surely
means all manner of, or in all kinds of (ways or means). But in general, Paul is
speaking to Christians and later in the chapter becomes much more specific, dealing
with codes of apparel and behavior in the church. In this case he may have used the
word all in the sense of all these, i.e. of whom he is speaking to. He uses the word
again in verse twenty of chapter five when he is clearly talking about the church as a
specific group.
As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that
the rest may stand in fear. (1Timothy 5:20)
In the case where this Greek word is used to refer to the actions or qualities of a
group of people, such as sinners, or believers, or those who possess faith, this author
believes it is quite proper and quite appropriate to interpret the word, whosoever, as
those who, or, those that. For example with the phrase whosoever believes, it would
be more accurate to interpret this as those who believe, those that believe, all those
who believe, everyone who believes, or even better simply, those believing. This
interpretation gives a more consistent meaning across its use in scripture. This is in

contrast with the interpretation, all those who chose to believe, since there is no reason
to imply this. It is also interesting to examine verses such as John 3:18 which says;
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only Son of God. (John 3:18)
In the Greek, there is no words for the phrase, he that. It means those who
believe, or as we suggested, those believing, and cannot rightfully be interpreted as,
those who choose to believe. It really goes back to the question, Why do we believe?,
or How do we come to believe?. And this is exactly what Jesus is discussing in the third
chapter of John, when He says that we don't know where the Spirit (salvation) comes
from. It's like the wind. He means it doesn't come from within us. It comes from
somewhere external. It is supernatural, and doesnt fit into a formula. It is from God.
(Please take time to read the excellent and detailed article by Jim McClarty and Grace
Christian Assembly regarding the interpretation of these Greek phrases, On John 3:16,
which is located in the resources section)
So now, in our verse in John 3:16, The whosoevers who believe, are the ones in
whom the Holy Spirit dwells by God's grace, and in His discriminating love. And our
verse may be properly and correctly translated, For God loved the world (people of
every race) in this way; that all those (who are believing), (as many as believe), (the
ones who believe) on Him will never die, but they will have everlasting life. Does this
mean that Christ did not die to save the whole world? Again Chafer says:

Almost every passage related to the cross could be called into evidence in
determining the divine reason for the sacrifice on the part of the Son of
God. In these divine records two great truths are evident: He died as a
substitute for someone else, and that someone else is each and every
individual in all the lost world of mankind.
Now let us look at a much larger number of verses which tell us that God chose,
many, to save not, all.
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give
his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)
For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off,
everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (Acts 2:39)
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all
whom you have given him. (John 17:2)
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God, (John 1:12)
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one
man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the
grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. (Romans 5:15)

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 8:19) KJV
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of
the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts
13:48)
From the previous verse we see that one must be ordained to eternal life before
believing.
And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many. (Mark 14:24)
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that
look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
(Hebrews 9:28)
We know that the Bible does not contradict itself, and our best interpretation of
difficult passages is often found by considering the truths that are presented in light of
other passages which relate to it. Of course, this requires a lot of effort and study. It is
certainly not a good practice to simply pick one verse out of the Bible, and use it as a
foundation for our interpretation of the rest of scripture. Yet this is exactly what many
cults do. God would not be God if His will did not prevail. If God means to save
everyone, then they would surely be saved. We have also seen in the scriptures that due
to man's corrupt nature, man does not, and cannot choose to be saved, without God's
intervention. In order to support the notion that God does want everyone to be saved,

there must surely be other verses which convey the same thought. We have been
searching the scriptures together, and the verses we have found show us that it is God
who has made His choice, and it is God who has made His selection.
Chapter Nine
The Remnant
The subject of the remnant is one of the most prominent topics of the Bible.
Therefore, the reader is urged to further study this theme in detail. The account of the
remnant in the bible begins with the Assyrian captivity of the ten tribes of Israel, in
approximately 740 BCE.
To put things in perspective, we note that God is not responsible for Israel's sin. It
was Israel's choice to disobey God. This was in their nature, as it is with all people. But
as we shall see, it was God's choice to bring about their salvation.
The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in
Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,
because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God but
transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the LORD
commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed. (2 Kings 18:11-12)
Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come
into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and
I will turn you back on the way by which you came. (2 Kings 19:28)

Remnant (H7604) shaw-ar'
A primitive root; properly to swell up, that is, be (causatively make) redundant: - leave,
(be) left, let, remain, remnant, reserve, the rest.
Remnant (H7611) sheh-ay-reeth'
From H7604; a remainder or residual (surviving, final) portion: - that had escaped, be
left, posterity, remain (-der), remnant, residue, rest.
And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root
downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD will do
this. (2 Kings 19:30-31)
Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we
should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto
Gomorrah. (Isaiah 1:9) KJV
In Chapters nine and ten of Isaiah, we find the awesome description of the
punishment of God's people, and their destruction at His hand. Let us note here, that
God's people, is the nation of Israel. The remnant, are those of the nation of Israel,
who are believers.
For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of
them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
(Isaiah 10:22)
God's sovereignty with respect to the remnant is expressed in the verses which
follow:

For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my
wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and
plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one
gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and
there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped." Shall
the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against
him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff
should lift him who is not wood! Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts will send
wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning
will be kindled, like the burning of fire. (Isaiah 10:13-16)
We can see in the verses above, that God Himself underscores the fact that He is
directing His people's destiny, and that they have no reason to even question His power
and authority to do so.
For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of
survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 37:32)
Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I
have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be
fruitful and multiply. (Jeremiah 23:3)
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all
nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the
LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be
those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall
be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32)
It is noted that in Hebrew, the use of the word and, is often used in a form of poetry,
in which the initial phrase is followed by a second phrase, which refers to the first,
sometimes expanding on it. In this case the whosoever in the first phrase, may very well
be the remnant, of the second phrase. The word of God is so rich, and doesnt waste
any words; notice also, that it says that the Lord shall call this remnant. They are not the
remnant without the call of God. Only those who have been called by the Lord, will be in
the remnant of Gods people.
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath
brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children
of Israel. (Micah 5:3) KJV
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of
Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
(Romans 9:27)
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is
by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no
longer be grace. (Romans 11:5-6)

Chapter Ten
The Church
The first use of the word church is found is Matthew 16:18.
Church (G1577) ek-klay-see'-ah
a calling out, that is, (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation
(Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or
both): - assembly, church.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with
your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families
of the earth be blessed.' (Acts 3:25)
In Romans Chapter nine, we see that the children of the covenant are those whom
God has chosen, and called out from both the Jews and the Gentiles.
and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but
"Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the
children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the
promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9:7-8)
how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written
briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of
Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations

as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same
body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
(Ephesians 3:3-6)
The church is referred to as the body of Christ.
and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:16)
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
(Colossians 1:18)
The church is the bride of Christ:
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the
church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Ephesians 5:23)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with
them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as
their God. (Revelation 21:1-3)
The temple of God:

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then
you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
(Ephesians 2:18-20)
But he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written:
"'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? (Luke
20:17)
Chapter Eleven
Children of God
We often hear it said that we are all God's children, but that is not what the bible
teaches us.
This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but
the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9:8)
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out
the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3)
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but
the tares are the children of the wicked one; (Matthew 13:38) KJV

From our study of the law, we found that the law has condemned man. But
now Christ has come to fulfill the law.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have
not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)
But who did He fulfill the law for? Since everyone is judged by the law, if
Christ fulfilled the law for everyone, then everyone would be saved.
and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you
could not be freed by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39)
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans
8:4)
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who
believes. (Romans 10:4)
These verses tell us that Christ only fulfilled the law for those who are predestined to
believe, and who are born again by Gods grace.
to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures
forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast
love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for
his steadfast love endures forever; (Psalms 136:4-6)
and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but
"Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." (Romans 9:7)

because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is,
eight persons, were brought safely through water. (1 Peter 3:20)
We are told in the Bible that Christ died for people, and that he paid for their sins.
What people did He die for? He certainly died for the elect, the ones chosen before the
foundation of the world.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before him. In love (Ephesians 1:4)
Chapter Twelve
The Blood of Christ
Let us now look at some of the verses which show us what the death and blood of
Christ accomplished for the elect.
Justified, saved from wrath
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall
we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9)
Redeemed from the curse of the law
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--
for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" (Galatians
3:13)

he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of
goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal
redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
Forgiveness of sins
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (Ephesians 1:7)
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat
down at the right hand of God, (Hebrews 10:12)
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
(Hebrews 1:3)
Brought near
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)
Made alive
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our
trespasses, (Colossians 2:13)

Canceled our debt
by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal
demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)
Ransomed
who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the
proper time. (1Timothy 2:6)
The power of death is destroyed
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise
partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the devil, (Hebrews 2:14)
Reconciled to God
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of
his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his
life. (Romans 5:10)
Sanctified
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
Healed
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter
2:24)

Perfected forever
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being
sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)
First of all, many of these verses come from letters (Ephesians, Colossians,
Romans, Galatians), written to the churches by Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. He is
writing to believers, using the terms, we, and, us. We have already discussed the
verses in 1 Timothy, where the word, all, refers to, all kinds of. The book of Hebrews
may have also been written by Paul, and it speaks to Hebrew Christians. Where are the
verses that say that Christ died for each and every one? If all these verses are true and
in effect for all those for whom Christ died for, and if He died for everyone, then none
would perish. Everyone would be justified, forgiven, reconciled to God, ransomed,
cleansed of sin, sanctified, healed, and all would be perfected forever. These blessings
of the covenant certainly cannot pertain to those whose are to be forever in hell, and
eternally separated from God. If Christ shed His blood for those in hell, then how can the
same blood be of such little effect that it could not keep them out of hell, while at the
same time being efficacious for those in heaven? The thinking that Gods blood cannot
overcome mans unrighteousness is the heart of blasphemy, and would pull God from
His very throne. God's people are not under the law and therefore not judged under the
law.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free, from the
law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

When God's people fail to keep his commandments, they do not loose salvation;
however they may lose blessings, and experience broken fellowship with God.
if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will
punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I
will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I
will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
(Psalms 89:31-34)
The following verses from the Chapter of John associate abiding in Christ with
keeping the commandments.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine;
you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that
bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not
abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches
are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my
words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
(John 15:4-7)
To abide in Christ is to be fruitful and to have strength and power to do God's will.
Those who are free from the law, have power to bring forth fruit unto God, instead of fruit
unto death. They do not however, always choose to use it. Failing to abide in Christ does
not result in loss of salvation, but as being useless and therefore figuratively withered,

they are burned by men (not angels). Failure to bear fruit unto God may result in
chastening though not punishment, or even death in the physical sense.
Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of
Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from
the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living
in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our
members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law,
having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way
of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4-6)
God has purchased a people with the blood of Christ
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he
obtained with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)
The purchase of the church by Christ is a finished act, and has been made for all
those who are in the body; past, present, and future. We are never told in the scriptures
that Christ continues to purchase His elect whenever they believe in Him. For those of us
living in the present, Christ purchased us before we were born!
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with
a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who
formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you
by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,
to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
Those who are the purchased possession are in covenant with God in Christ, and
are His people by the faith that they are given by God.
Chapter Thirteen
Christ is the Light
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of
salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to
the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,
(Isaiah 49:8)

And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in
me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not
remain in darkness. (John 12:44-46)
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in
order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him
is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this
is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the
darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (John 3:17-
19)
This applies to everyone. Christ is the light. In Christ's light, man's sinfulness is
revealed. Man is judged as sinful, because their deeds were evil. So then, it is not
possible that all are forgiven of their sins. Christ refers to man's very nature. Man's
nature will not permit him to love the Light.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to
the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true
comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been
carried out in God. (John 3:20-21)

Chapter Fourteen
The Righteousness of Christ
but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep
my commandments. (Exodus 20:6)
Does this mean that one must keep the commandments in order to receive mercy?
Yes, according to the law. But we have seen that no one is able to keep the
commandments.
Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of
heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. (Matthew 5:19-20)
And as we have read before:
as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; (Romans 3:10)
How then is it possible for man's righteousness to exceed that of the very people
who were the most strict in keeping the law? Jesus says that it is not possible. Man by
nature does not love God, and is judged according to the law, as a result. This is first
commandment in the law of Moses:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus
20:2-3)
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him,
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. (Matthew 22:36-37)
If man could simply decide to love God, and believe in Christ, then that would be to
obey this all-encompassing commandment. If this were possible without God's
intervention, then man would not need a savior. Man would have achieved his own
righteousness through following the law. But man, in his sinful fallen state, is not able to
obey these laws. Unaided by the Holy Spirt, man will never think to love God. It is
against his nature. He cannot follow the laws of God. Instead, he is condemned by them.
He is no less responsible to obey them however, because this is the just requirement of
a Holy God. Because man is incapable to do this, he needs mercy and forgiveness. He
needs the righteousness of Christ, in which the law is fulfilled for him.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who
believes. (Romans 10:4)
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom
from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, (1 Corinthians
1:30)
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the
law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it (Romans 3:21)

Christ came to earth as a man and representing us, He lived a sinless life, and
thereby fulfilled the Law for us. Jesus Christ is our righteousness. His own righteousness
was imparted, or imputed to us.
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have
obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our
God and Savior Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1)
The power to obey the law comes from God, in the form of being given a new nature,
one that is capable of obedience, and love toward God.

Chapter Fifteen
God's Sovereignty
In the Bible, we are told that the blessings of the New Covenant are of effect for us
by the will of God, not the will of man. God has chosen His people in accordance with
His own desires. This is evidence of His discriminating love.
he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to
the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:5)
making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose,
which he set forth in Christ (Ephesians 1:9)

good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of
man, but of God. (John 1:13)
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be
a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that
I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where
it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-8)
Did we have a decision to make to be born physically into this world? Was it of our
own will? Of course not! Jesus is saying plainly that the new birth is from God, and it has
no origination in us. We get to meet and know our parents after we are born, not before!
The new birth then, is the fruit and effect of the will and purpose of God. Spurgeon once
said that God not only is sovereign, but he exerts His sovereignty over man and His
creation.

O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD.
Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house
of Israel. (Jeremiah 18:6)
Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself
against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a
staff should lift him who is not wood! (Isaiah 10:15)
"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen
pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or
'Your work has no handles'? (Isaiah 45:9)
You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that
the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing
formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? (Isaiah
29:16)
And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will
proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. (Exodus
33:19)
Paul commenting on this passage while in the Spirit says this:
For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on
human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says

to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show
my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he
wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can
resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what
is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the
potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for
honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to
show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much
patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known
the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared
beforehand for glory-- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only
but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were
not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call
'beloved.'" "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not
my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" (Romans
9:15-26)
We see here, God's will prevailing over man. We see God's sovereignty in choosing
only some to have mercy on, and preparing those predestined for salvation. We see that
Gods purpose lies in glorifying Himself by choosing a people for Himself, and making
known to them His glory. We also see that we have not the right to ask Him why or why
not, nor to question his motives. We see that man cannot resist Gods will. Yet Erasmus

here says regarding the above verse in Romans chapter nine: In this case we are
obliged to submit to God, like moist clay to the potter's hands. Truly, our free will is
thereby not completely cancelled out, because it is not impossible for our will to work
together with the divine will for our salvation. But does clay has a life of its own, and
must act to help the potter make something? The thought behind this statement is
diametrically opposed to the truth of what this passage asserts. Erasmus gives us a
picture of man earning his own salvation. It suggests that God must have man's
cooperation in order to exert His will up on him. A well-known cult, the Mormon church,
teaches that God must have mans cooperation in order to save him: The LDS Bible
Dictionary tells us that the grace unto "eternal life and exaltation" is insufficient "without
total effort on the part of the recipient":
"This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal
life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts. Divine grace is
needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man's
weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on
the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, 'It is by grace that we are saved,
after all we can do' (2 Ne. 25:23)" (p. 697).
Erasmus also turns to a similar verse in second Timothy chapter two
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of
wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man
therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified,

and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (2Timothy
2:20-21)
He then reasons that if man is able to purge himself, then he can take credit for
being the clean vessel. But the fault of Erasmus' thinking here is that this verse applies
only to the Christian, not the unsaved. The second chapter of Timothy is clearly written
by Paul to encourage Timothy and other fellow Christians, to persevere. Christians are
already a vessel of honor by God's design. But Christians should strive to rid
themselves of false teaching and youthful lusts etc., so that they are sanctified, or
separated for God's use. Many use the argument that God is unfair if He makes a
vessel unto wrath without having found fault in that vessel beforehand. But they fail to
see that God also makes vessels unto honor without having found good in them
beforehand.
though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in
order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works
but because of him who calls-- she was told, "The older will serve the
younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Romans 9:11-
13)
Erasmus says regarding these verses;
...one should not accept it literally, for God does not love the way we love,
nor does he hate anyone. Such passions are not of God's essence.
Moreover, what I really want to say, the prophet speaks in this passage
obviously not of a hatred which damns man eternally, but of a temporal

difficulty.. Since God hates and loves only with righteous justification,
hatred and love are no more standing in the way of free will, whether
happening before or after the birth of man. When He already hates a man
before his birth, it is because He knows for sure that he will do something
odious; when after his birth, it is because he is actually doing something
hateful.
God makes a vessel to dishonor only in the sense that he allows mans corrupt
nature to produce what it naturally does. Therefore, He makes the vessel to dishonor by
His permissive will, not His active will. In regard to doing something, odious, we are all
sinners from birth, so this includes everyone. This writer has heard from the pulpit in one
of the largest churches in the world regarding Romans 9:13, this does not mean that
God arbitrarily loved Jacob and hated Esau. Yet, that is exactly what this verse says!
The pastor seems to imply God's injustice if the verse were to be interpreted literally. We
tend to think that doing something without reason is not justified. But God does not need
to be justified by reason. Man's pride would use reasoning to become God's judge. What
could be more blasphemous? Yet this is always where man's reasoning leads him. It is
interesting that every time in the bible where the word, reason, is used, it has to do with
an attribute, mostly in a negative sense, of man and never of God.
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
"Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive
sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that

they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you
question these things in your hearts? (Mark 2:6-8)
One easily gets tangled in his own thinking when trying to re-write scripture.
Erasmus had just said that God does not hate anyone. He presumes to know what
passions are, of God's essence. We have verses from the scriptures which do use the
word hate, and we certainly also have verses in the Bible speaking of God killing people,
and they are taken literally. Erasmus forgets that God is just to hate us, and to damn
every one of us to eternal hell if He chose to. The verse in Romans 9:11 is all about
election and grace as opposed to works, and it is about God's choice. It had nothing at
all to do with what the Jacob and Esau may or may not have done, or would or would not
do, and that is clearly stated. They were both born sinners. We would not only have to
change this verse, but so many others if we were to think otherwise.
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I
make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of
my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)
Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him,
'What are you doing?' (Job 9:12)
The bible says that we are born spiritually dead, and by nature have Gods wrath
abiding on us:
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out
the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,

like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great
love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved
(Ephesians 2:3-5)
On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once
walked, when you were living in them. (Colossians 3:6-7)
In what sense then does God love the objects of His wrath? Man's pride will hardly
tolerate the knowledge that we are born sinners, even before committing any sin. It is
easy enough to envision some group of very wicked people as those whom God hates,
but not so easy when we apply these verses to ourselves. We have the mark of Adam,
the mark of corruption. We try to make God fit into our own reasoning of what He should
be like. We call God unfair, as if we are above God, and in doing so pass judgment upon
Him. We end up exalting ourselves.

Chapter Sixteen
Can man choose his own destiny?
Lewis Sperry Chafer, in his book Salvation a Clear Doctrinal Analysis says,
The death of Christ is explained in the Scriptures and the personal
acceptance or rejection of that divine explanation is declared to be the
point which determines the destiny of each individual. Men are said to
stand, or fall, not by their moral, or religious standards, but by their

personal choice in relation to the death and saving grace of Christ. The
question is as important, therefore, as the destiny of man. He goes on to
say that God in Christ has redeemed the whole world and every person in it
and now is waiting for them to be thoroughly changed by the message of
the Cross, in reconciliation toward Him.
Furthermore he says,
He has redeemed them by the blood of Christ who was the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world, but is now awaiting their act of faith
toward the Christ that He might with power of the Spirit transform them into
the very sons of God. He has propitiated toward the whole world, but must
await the willingness of the individual to stand only on the fact that the
righteous judgments for sin have already been accomplished in the cross
of Christ. But as we have seen, Christ has redeemed a people out of the
totality of mankind, not each and every one:
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and
to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed
people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
(Revelation 5:9)
God has power of all of creation, and His will prevails over all things.
I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man
who walks to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)

If man would have power to deny God's purposes, then he would be more powerful
than God Himself. This is the very sin with which Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the
Garden; that they would become as gods, and therefore have power equal to God. It has
always been Satan's desire to be above God in controlling and ruling the universe.
You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I
will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far
reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will
make myself like the Most High.' (Isaiah 14:13-14)
Does man have a nature that will allow him to control his own destiny?
Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of
Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit
on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)
Again we see from the scriptures that the salvation of man is supernatural,
something totally from God, and something that man cannot effect. The famous Silver
Tongued Orator, Charles H. Spurgeon, says of this:
You must have destiny somewhere; it must me either as God wills or as
man wills. If it be as God wills, then Jehovah sits as sovereign upon his
throne of glory, and all hosts obey him, and the world is safe; if not God,
then you put man there, to say, I will, or I will not; if I will it I will enter

heaven; if I will it I will despise the grace of God; if I will it I will conquer the
Holy Spirit, for I am stronger than God, and stronger than omnipotence; if I
will it I will make the blood of Christ of no effect, for I am mightier than that
blood, mightier than the blood of the Son of God himself; though God make
his purpose, yet I will laugh at his purpose; it shall be my purpose that shall
make his purpose stand, or make it fall.
We would probably all agree that God intervened in a supernatural way to bring His
people out of Egypt, that He intervened supernaturally to save the Jews through the
waters of the Red Sea, and that He also intervened supernaturally to destroy the
Egyptians that pursued them. The Jews did not bring upon themselves the events that
happened. God brought about those events to accomplish His own purpose. Look at the
way that God intervened in the lives of the Hebrew people as they wandered in the
desert:
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was near. For God said, "Lest the people change their
minds when they see war and return to Egypt." But God led the people around by
the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up
out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. (Exodus 13:17-18)
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along
the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by
day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not
depart from before the people. (Exodus 13:21-22)

The Hebrew people would never have even left Egypt had not God not only directed
them, but empowered them to leave, and more; He constrained them to leave. God
could have let them all die in the wilderness, but He controlled the events in their lives in
an obviously supernatural way. He controls our lives and the lives of all, even though it is
not so apparently supernatural. In Jeremiah we find a clear example of how God would
not let His people have their own will:
"What is in your mind shall never happen--the thought, 'Let us be like the nations,
like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.' (Ezekiel 20:32)
A common argument, one that is presented by Erasmus, in his famous, Discourse
on Free Will, is centered on this verse found in the book of Deuteronomy:
"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey
the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by
loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his
commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and
multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are
entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will
not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I
declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in
the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call
heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you
life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your
offspring may live, (Deuteronomy 30:15-19)

Now Erasmus's argument is, God shows what is good and do what is evil. He offers
as recompense death, or life. He relinquishes to man the freedom of choice. It would be
ridiculous to command one to make a choice, if he were incapable of turning in either
direction. That's like saying to someone who stands at the crossroads choose either
one, when only one is passable. But simply saying that something is ridiculous, and
thereby hoping to prove a point, is not an argument. We are talking about God, and we
know that His ways are above ours. They really do not have to make sense to us. To the
unsaved, all things spiritual are foolishness.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9)
Consider the giving of the law to the Hebrews. They were commanded to obey these
laws, were they not? Was anyone able to fulfill the law? No, they were not! Jesus also
commands us to repent, but who is able? Man is indeed responsible and accountable for
his own repentance, but unless he is given a new nature, he cannot repent. Did the
Israelites choose life? No, they did not. They did worship other gods, and if not for Gods
mercy all would have perished.

I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin
came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to
be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment,
deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the
commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good,
then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me
through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and
through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
(Romans 7:9-13)
The law was given that sin might become more serious in that we find that we are
unable to obey the law. Paul says in Romans:
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
(Romans 3:28)
So then, far from being ridiculous, it is in God's plan and will to command man to
obey a law which cannot be obeyed in his sinful state and nature. Jesus was speaking to
his disciples, and was comparing keeping the law with a rich man giving up his treasure.
The rich man found it impossible to do that. Jesus gave a clear answer when the
disciples asked Him how they could be saved if they cannot do what is required:
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who
then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25-26)

We are told in the book of Galatians that the law was not given so that by keeping
the law, one could earn salvation.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we
might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)
The law was given so in the failure to obey the law, man must see that he is
hopeless and destined for hell would it not be for the faith in Christ and His sacrifice,
which is given by God through His grace to those to whom He wishes to give it. We give
God glory for this. Is God responsible for the destiny of fallen man? No! God is not
responsible in the sense of that He is to be held in judgment, or to be declared guilty.
God is in control of every mans destiny however, and allowed mans fallen nature to
take its course. Adam made the choice to sin, and to reap his own destiny. Adam made
the choice for us as our representative. We would have done the same and so reap the
same condemnation. God does all this for His own glory. Can we give glory to God for
this? Or, do we hate God for this? Do we wish to judge God, and to rob Him of His glory
in allowing fallen man to be punished for his own transgression? Let us now examine our
hearts. Yes, we have all tasted the sin of hatred for God. It is our nature. Those who now
love God, do so only because God has willed it to be. Do you now think that you can
overpower your sin nature and make yourself willing to obey? Only God the Holy Spirit
can defeat the sin that we have. We must constantly and continually depend on Him for
our holiness. (Please see John Hendryxs excellent work, Jesus Christ the Fount of
Every Blessing, found in the resources.)

Chapter Seventeen
All Power Belongs to God
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me
empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in
the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
"The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I
announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. (Isaiah
48:3)
I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced
them to you, lest you should say, 'My idol did them, my carved image and
my metal image commanded them.' (Isaiah 48:5)
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things
shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice
forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness. (Isaiah 65:17-18)
Just as God created the heavens and the earth, and just as they will one day
dissolve and be no more, God has said that He will create a new heavens and a new
earth. He will also create man new and different. He is even now (as we perceive it),
creating a people who have a heart designed to serve Him, and to love Him.

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son
gives life to whom he will. (John 5:21)
Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to
God, (Psalms 62:11)
Some may have the notion, or desire that they can control their own destiny, but they
have no power to do so. Just think, if you could change your own destiny, it would
change everything else in the world, and everyone elses destiny. If there is even one
thing over which God had no control, God would have no control at all. Yet Christ said to
Pilate:
Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it
had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to
you has the greater sin. (John 19:11)
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no
authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by
God. (Romans 13:1)
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)
God Himself is the very cause of our salvation!
And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in
your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken,
and I will do it, declares the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:14)

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, (1 Peter 1:3)
Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I
will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I
will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the
LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my
people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will
place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I
have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:12-14)
Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one
deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall
see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the
LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." Thus
says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of
salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to
the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,
(Isaiah 49:7-8)
But in seeming ignorance of these scriptures, Origen in the third book of his
Commentary on St. John, says:

God shows mercy to him who remembers his goodness and betters himself.
However He hardens him who, though obtaining a respite for change of mind,
does not care for God's goodness and becomes worse
This sounds like a common expression heard from the self-righteous: God helps
those who help themselves. We have already seen in our discussion of man's nature,
that unsaved man cannot know God or His God's goodness, let alone better himself,
whatever that really means.

Chapter Eighteen
Our Salvation has been appointed
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep
we might live with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
But God has also appointed some to wrath. God has purposely blinded the Jews as
a nation so that they cannot understand His word and be able to come to Him.
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated
for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God
into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude
1:4)

And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not
understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this
people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and
turn and be healed." (Isaiah 6:9-10)
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained
it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of
stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this
very day." And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a
stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so
that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever." (Romans 11:7-10)
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To
you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for
others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing
they may not understand.' (Luke 8:9-10)
So we see that God predestines some to eternal life and some to eternal
punishment. In theological terms, this is called double predestination.
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of
wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. (2 Timothy 2:20)
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness (ESV has hardness) in part is

happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (Romans 11:25)
KJV
But their minds were blinded (ESV has hardened): for until this day remaineth the
same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in
Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:14) KJV
God allows satan to blind some. Has God allowed them to be blinded because they
don't believe? No, He has blinded them so that they cannot believe.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,
to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who
is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the
path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the
word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. (Luke
8:11-12)
God also may Himself blind some Himself, so that they may not believe.
Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not
see may see, and those who see may become blind." (John 9:39)
Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, "He has blinded
their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and
understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." (John 12:39-
40)

Paul contrasts the wicked and the elect in these verses from II Thessalonians:
Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe
what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the
truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
Notice how Peter contrasts the wicked and the elect in the following verses:
and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because
they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:8-9)
Also using contrast, Paul says in his letter to the church at Thessolonica, that the
believers there were not appointed to wrath as the unbelievers are.
For God has not destined (appointed KJV) us for wrath, but to obtain
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether
we are awake or asleep we might live with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

He says that they were appointed, or destined, to obtain salvation through Jesus
Christ. So some indeed have been appointed, or destined, to receive God's wrath. Those
people that found God, did so because God manifested Himself to them. In the
seventeenth chapter of John, we see that Christ did not manifest Himself to everyone:
I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the
world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your
word. (John 17:6)
After we are saved, God cleanses us with the washing of his word, and continues his
work of grace in our hearts, by His Holy Spirit, to bring us towards perfection:
Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and
anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod
you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
(Ezekiel 16:9-10)
In Ezekiel chapter twenty, God is dealing with a sinful people, and declares to save
them in spite of their sinfulness:
I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the
covenant. I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who
transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn,
but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the
LORD. (Ezekiel 20:37-38)
As we see, God Himself is the cause of their acceptance:

As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the
peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been
scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the
nations. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the
land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. (Ezekiel
20:41-42)
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy
garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be
yours. (Psalms 110:3)
God did not say to them I will accept you when you stop sinning and come to me.
No, they would not come to Him, ever. Neither would we have.
Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I
sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending
them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 29:19)
And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for
my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your
corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 20:44)
You may ask, why then does Jesus command repentance? Notice that both John
the Baptist and Christ, when they began their ministries, commanded repentance. Jesus
is calling His sheep. His sheep hear His voice. He is speaking to those who have ears to
hear.

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
(John 10:26)
Notice that Jesus does not say, You are not my sheep because you don't believe.
This is because His sheep only believe because they have been chosen by God and
been born again by His Spirit, born to be His sheep. John Calvin has said regarding
repentance:
...we cannot perform it until God have changed our hearts to cause us to submit
ourselves unto him and have made us new creatures in our Lord Jesus Christ
Chapter Nineteen
We Are Born Spiritually Blind
It certainly doesn't appear that Paul's salvation on the road to Damascus involved
him making a decision to come to Christ. Paul was spiritually blind. Paul gives the glory
to God in Galatians Chapter One where he says:
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his
grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him
among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; (Galatians 1:15-
16)
Paul did not know who Christ really was until God revealed Christ to him. Note that
the verse says when it pleased God, not, when it pleased Paul. It is God performing
the actions here: He separated, He called, and He revealed, His Son to Paul. It is

significant that Paul's mission was, as God's instrument, to open the eyes of other blind
men:
place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' (Acts 26:18)
Jesus doesn't speak of asking men to make a decision. His sheep must be led -
turned away from Satan unto God, by a supernatural will and force. Only then can they
receive Him, and obtain forgiveness of their sins. Without divine intervention, no one can
truly know who Jesus is. Chafer says that the Gospel is plain. Yes, it is made plain to
those who are being saved:
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto
us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
And in the account of Jesus giving sight to the blind man, in John chapter nine:
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do
you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I
may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he
who is speaking to you." He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
(John 9:35-38)
It was impossible for the blind man, born blind, a man also born spiritually blind, to
know who Christ was. Christ opened his eyes, and revealed Himself to the blind man.
Only then could he believe.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and
believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last
day. (John 6:40)
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from
God; whoever does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11)
One can only see Christ as God, as God chooses to reveal Him to man.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now
on you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:7)
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not
know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you
say, 'Show us the Father'? (John 14:9)

Chapter Twenty
We Are Born Spiritually Dead
Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, (John 11:14)

In Ezekiel Chapter 16 we have wonderful parallel with how God chooses and saves
Israel as a nation, and how God saves the lost sinner. First in verse 2 we see the Holy
Spirit convicting a sinner.
Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, (Ezekiel 16:2)
And then we see the condition that the sinner is in before salvation:
And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor
were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor
wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to
you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for
you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. (Ezekiel 16:4-5)
"And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to
you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' (Ezekiel 16:6)
This is the same condition we were in when God saved us. And now again we see
the mention of the covenant which God has made with His elect:
When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for
love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your
nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you,
declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. (Ezekiel 16:8)
Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I
will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I
will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the

LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my
people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will
place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I
have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:12-14)
But God in His grace gives that glorious command which gives Him all the glory.
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus,
come out. (John 11:43)
This is a clear and stunning description of a lost soul. How can a dead man raise
himself? He cannot! He cannot respond at all. But when Jesus commands him he
becomes alive just as when He speaks into existence the salvation of His elect. Jesus
Christ calls forth those who are spiritually dead. Man is unable to come to Christ and to
believe in Him as his Savior. Just as Jesus raised Lazarus when he said come forth,
God decrees eternal life for those whom He has chosen as His own. Those who are
dead spiritually have no desire toward God. Remember that without desire, we can make
no choice.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in
me, though he die, yet shall he live, (John 11:2)
If man was able to believe, why would Jesus need to use a dead man as an
example. He could have easily said the same thing regarding a living man, if He only
referred here, to the absence of spiritual life. It stresses the fact that man is totally unable

to initiate his own spiritual life, just as he is totally unable to give himself physical life
when he is dead. Jesus did not ask Lazarus if he wanted to live or not. It was not a
question, it was a command! It was an eternal decree. Why would one even ask, was it
against his will or not? Could it be that Lazarus was unhappy with God's choice to give
him life again? Was it unjust not to ask him first whether he wished to have his life back
again?
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. (Romans 5:8)
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from
the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:12)
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the
furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10)
life. (Romans 5:10)
Yes, we were saved while we were enemies. Does an enemy show love
toward someone? God saved us in spite of our hatred toward Him.
He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13:9)
Many think this means that anyone who wishes to is able to hear, but as we examine
the verses which follow, we see that this isn't so.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I
will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)
And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it
is granted him by the Father." (John 6:65)
Some say that all we need to do is receive Christ. But think back if you will on the
verses that we have covered which contain the word receive.
John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given
him from heaven. (John 3:27)
who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and
anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Luke 10:22)
The only ones who are able to know who God is, are those to whom Jesus choses to
reveal Him to.
but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (John 10:26-29)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who
sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed
from death to life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now
here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who
hear will live. (John 5:24-25)
Jesus was telling them not only of the life to come, but He said, and is now here.
Those that are dead in their sins will hear. How can the dead hear? How can only some
hear His voice, (they that hear), and have everlasting life? It is obvious that God
speaks life only to certain ones. They are enabled to hear His voice and live.
Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in
parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
(Matthew 13:10-11)
To them it has not been given. It is according to God's will that some should not
come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe
in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
"Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm
of the Lord been revealed?" Therefore they could not believe. For again
Isaiah said, "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they
see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would
heal them." (John 12:37-40)

Chapter Twenty One
Who is Able to Love God?
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in
the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has
promised to those who love him? (James 2:5)
Who is it that is able to love God? It is only those who are chosen of God, and to
whom God has given the faith to believe in Him, who are able to love God.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
The verses which precede this, tell us that John is speaking to fellow Christians.
We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from
God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit
of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and
whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does
not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God
was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:6-9)
John is saying through the Spirit, that man cannot even truly love, without knowing
God, and being born of God. The Bible clearly says that all are condemned to spend

eternity in hell, but that some are to be saved. It cannot be found in the Bible that Jesus
came to save everyone, as some false religions believe. Jesus is the cause of man's
salvation, not the cause of their judgment. Man is both responsible and guilty, with or
without a redeemer. Man has been condemned to eternal separation from God ever
since Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Yes, without Jesus there
would be no hope. No one can be saved apart from faith in Christ. Christ's death on the
cross paid the price of redemption for those who were once dead in trespasses and sins.
Even though man is judged according to his deeds, he cannot earn salvation by doing
good works.
Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The
righteous shall live by faith." (Galatians 3:11)
We have seen that man is condemned by his deeds, but man is condemned from
birth, even without committing any sins.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
(Psalms 51:5)
The world is spiritually dead and blind. A man cannot be saved unless Christ reveals
Himself to him.

even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be
in you. (John 14:17)
as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no
one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become
worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)
Lewis Sperry Chaffer again says,
This one word believe represents all a sinner can do, and all a sinner
must do, to be saved. It is believing the record God has given of His Son.
In this record it is stated that He has entered into all the needs of our lost
condition and is alive from the dead to be a living Savior to all who put their
trust in Him.
But as we have seen, it is not in the corrupt human nature to believe in God, and to
put trust in God. If we accept the truth in the Bible that man is indeed totally depraved,
then it is beyond his ability to come to Christ, without divine intervention. Believing is the
one thing we absolutely cannot, and will not do without God opening our eyes and our
ears, that we may see Him and hear His voice, and receive the gift of eternal life. Ken
Talbot and Gary Crampton in their book, Calvanism, Hyper-Calvanism and Arminianism
say,
How then does God call me to Christ? The answer is simple - biblically!
This means that we do not adopt humanistic methodology in our

evangelism. For example, altar calls are unbiblical. There is not a single
altar call in the whole of Scripture. The idea that one must 'come forward' to
be saved cheapens the doctrines of grace, and presents a truncated
gospel. Neither do we present unbiblical doctrines to the non-believer in
our evangelistic endeavors. Pithy saying such as: 'God loves you and has
a wonderful plan for your life,' or, 'Christ died for you,' are improper. We
have already seen that Christ did not die to save all men, and that God
does not have a wonderful plan for those who reject the gospel
Charles Spurgeon in his sermon on Human Inability says this verse:
Coming to Christ, though described by some people as being the very
easiest thing in the world, is in our text (John 6:44) declared to be a thing
utterly and entirely impossible to any man, unless the Father shall draw him
to ChristThere is in man, not only unwillingness to be saved, but there is
a spiritual powerlessness to come to Christ
Chafer uses the terms, yield yourself to Him and we hear many others such as,
give your life to Christ, or make a decision for Christ. What decision will the natural
man make? Without supernatural implantation of a new nature, man is unable to even
understand the Gospel. We know now that saving faith, is the gift of God. Paul speaking
to brothers in Christ in the twelfth Chapter of Romans says,

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
(Romans 12:3)
In the Greek, the word used for assigned here, is merizo, to part, that is, (literally)
to apportion, bestow, share, or (figuratively) to disunite, differ: - deal, be difference
between, distribute, divide, give part.
doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-
10)
It could not be made any clearer when the word says, this is not your own doing.
Faith does not come from within us. It can only be given as a gift from God. So then we
cannot have faith on our own, or apart from Gods will to give it to us.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
The great Puritan theologian John Owen has said: To suppose that whatever God
requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of
Jesus Christ of none effect. John Hendryx says:

Christ calls all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel but the
elect alone are they whose eyes God opens. To deny this is to deny that
salvation is by Christ alone. Either Christ secures all blessings for His
people that they might believe, or we erroneously introduce something of
nature into the work of redemption. Can we thank God even for our faith or
is the one thing reserved for ourselves? Let us thank Christ for all things,
even the new birth that gives rise to our hope in Christ:
The book of Romans has long been thought to contain the road to salvation, and so
it does. In Romans chapters three and four, we see clearly that man is judged by the law,
but justified by faith in Christ.
held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be
justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But
now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of
God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no
distinction: (Romans 3:19-22)
This is the gospel. In spite of man's hopeless condition, there is a Redeemer. There
is hope which both Jews and Gentiles have through faith in Christ and his shed blood.
But who are they which have this faith? Notice in chapter four the mention of promise.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the
world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and
the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law
there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the
promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring--not only
to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of
Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:13-16)
Why is this? As we saw before, God through his covenant with man, made a promise
to save men in spite of their rebellion. He made a decree that He would have a people
that would love Him, and that would be His own. Whitefield says:
The truth is this: God, as a reward of Christ's sufferings, promised to give
the elect faith and repentance in order to give the elect faith and
repentance and in order to bring them to eternal life...
Charles Spurgeon in his sermons on grace says regarding faith:
Remember this; or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much
upon the faith which is the channel of salvation as to forget the grace which
is the fountain and source even of faith itself. Faith is the work of God's
grace in us. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost.
No man cometh unto me, saith Jesus, except the Father which hath sent
me draw him. So that faith, which is coming to Christ, is the result of divine
drawing. Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith,

essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace
employs. We are saved through faith, but salvation is by grace. Sound
forth those words as with the archangel's trumpet: By grace are ye saved.
What glad tidings for the undeserving!
But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone,
but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised
from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses
and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:23-25)
This is the gospel! In chapter five, we see that while they were without strength, and
were sinners and enemies, Christ died for them. The Greek word for, without strength,
means impotent, or, powerless.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
(Romans 5:6)
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. (Romans 5:8)
life. (Romans 5:10)
In chapter nine, the discussion of the promise picks back up, speaking of those who
are the heirs of the promise. We are shown that Christ came for certain ones; the seed,
the children of God.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
(Romans 8:16-17)
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the
covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. (Romans
9:4)
The notion of a distinction, a choice originating solely in the heart of God, is evident.
In the following verses, we see one of the most awesome testimonies to God's
sovereignty in the entire Bible:
As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then?
Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will
have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but
on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very
purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that
my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on
whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me
then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are
you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder,
"Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to
make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for

dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make
known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for
vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- even us
whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As
indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my
people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" "And in the very
place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be
called 'sons of the living God.'" And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
"Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a
remnant of them will be saved, (Romans 9:13-27)
Many use the following two verses, in an attempt to prove that anyone has the ability
to choose to be saved.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:21)
For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans
10:13)
But do you know what verse in the Old Testament they refer too? Acts Chapter two,
actually tells us that they refer to the verse found in Joel, Chapter two:
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the
LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be

those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall
be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32)
So, what are we getting at? Well, some take these verses to mean that anyone is
able, and can, at their own whim, call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. But, in the
verse in Joel chapter two, we see that this refers to the remnant, or the elect, those
whom the LORD shall call. The Open Bible has among the remnant. We can see then,
that these verses have to do with those already chosen by God for salvation. Yes, they
will call upon His name and be saved, those who are called according to His will.
Remember that we have already learned that the word, whosoever, is better translated,
those who. It is those who the Lord has chosen, that will call on Him. Let's look further
at the verse in Romans chapter ten and the context of verse thirteen:
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how
are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are
they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach
unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those
who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For
Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith
comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask,
have they not heard? Indeed they have, for "Their voice has gone out to all
the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." (Romans 10:14-18)
What do we see? We all know the verse, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God, right? But does that mean that everyone who hears God's word,

believes? We know this is not true, otherwise everyone in every church would be saved.
Furthermore, the above verses clearly say that they were told, and did NOT believe!
What then, makes the difference? We have to look at the remaining verses in Romans,
Chapter ten:
But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, "I will make you
jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you
angry." Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who
did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me."
(Romans 10:19-20)
God says that He manifested Himself to those who were NOT seeking for Him; NOT
asking for Him! What does this mean? It means that God chose to gather a remnant from
a different people, the Gentiles, or from all peoples of the world. But He reveals Himself
to only those whom He has specifically chosen. The whosoevers, are those who God
elects! They were afore prepared, or as the ESV says, prepared beforehand. And we
know from our previous study, that this was before God created the world, or in eternity.
They will seek and they will ask when God draws them by His Holy Spirit, and puts in
them a new heart and a new nature.
the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
Clearly, God is not waiting for us to ask to be saved, for by nature, we would never
ask. God must manifest Himself to those He wishes to save. Only then, are they able to

hear His voice, and come to Him. Spend a moment thinking about this. Do we not feel
the pain of knowing that we are not as powerful as we imagined? We may deny the
pain, yet we must indeed know that we are helpless and hopeless to devise our own
salvation, or our own destiny.

Chapter Twenty Two
Eternal Security
God's chosen ones will never be lost. Christ's blood covers their past, present and
future sins.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I
will never cast out. (John 6:37)
And this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that
he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my
Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should
have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.' (John 6:39-40)
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as
a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand (John 10:27-28)
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be
against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,
how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring
any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to
condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was
raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is
written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded
as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor
life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans
8:29-39)

which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I
have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day
what has been entrusted to me. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Chapter Twenty Three
The Two Natures of the Believer
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with
a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
The believer has been given a new, divine nature.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed
away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We have discussed the nature of man, and now with joy we turn to the new nature
that God, by His infinite grace, in his majestic sovereignty, has planted in the hearts of
His chosen ones.
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of
our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that
by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust. (1 Peter 1:4)
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (1
Corinthians 6:17)
Man's spirit now is clean, and appears righteous before God through Christ and His
atoning blood. But the body of man, his flesh, his mind, is still corrupt.
and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its
practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in
knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:9-10)
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you
have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba!
Father!" (Romans 8:15)
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory
and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great
promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of
sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with
you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells
with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
God no longer sees sin in us because Christ lives in us, and our sins were nailed to
the cross.
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through
faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to
be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works
of the law no one will be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in
Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?
Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a
transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to
God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ
who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of
God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no
purpose. (Galatians 2:16-21)
We will to refer back to our definition of will: And therefore I observe, that the Will
(without any metaphysical refining) is, That by which the mind chooses anything. The
faculty of the Will, is that power, or principle of mind, by which it is capable of choosing:
an act of the Will is the same as an act of choosing or choice. So we see that in

salvation, the will is acted upon by the Holy Spirit in such a way, that it submits more and
more to the will of God, and less and less to the world, the corrupt nature (the flesh), and
the devil. We also see that a person saved by God's grace inherits a new nature, one
which knows God, loves God and obeys God. Man still has the old nature however, and
is capable of sin. It becomes the choice of a true believer then, to act out of the old
nature of corruption or out of the new divine nature which is God in Christ living through
us by His Holy Spirit.
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are
lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
The two natures of the believer are clearly seen in the following verses:
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)
So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know
that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to
do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:17-18)
Paul conveys the conflict of his two natures as being that of mind, and flesh; his
mind being renewed by the Spirit of Christ in him.
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve
the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
(Romans 7:25)

"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But
we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
He also speaks of the inner and outer man:
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be
strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians
3:16)
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner
self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)
In his argument asserting the free will of man, Erasmus in his Discourse on Free
Will uses a quote from Romans 13:12:
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works
of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its
practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in
knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:9-10)
He then says How can we be commanded to lay aside something, if we are
incapable?
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have
the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans
7:18)

He says, Paul obviously admits here that it is in the power of man to want to do
good.
To this we say that even the casual reader of this work may resolve this by realizing
that these verses pertain to the saved, not the unsaved. The saved having two natures,
may act out of either nature. Paul himself in this very chapter of Romans Seven
concludes thus:
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve
the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
(Romans 7:24-25)
The following verses not only portray the basic nature of man, but also the dual
nature of the saved man.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is
life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it
does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh
cannot please God. (Romans 8:6-8)
So then we see that the fruits of the natural man are unto death, and the fruits of the
Spirit of God are unto life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23)

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
(Ephesians 5:9) KJV
Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ,
so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in
order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our
sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for
death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us
captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the
written code. (Romans 7:4-6)
As we can see then, the regenerated man who is born of the Spirit and saved by
God's grace, has a choice now whether to act out of the old nature or the new nature.
Does that mean that such a one could now sin without punishment? Yes, it does. But of
course God's blessing would not be upon that one, but the more important consequence
would be that he would not be serving God, or glorifying Him by his actions. He would be
serving himself and dishonoring God. We also see from the Bible that his actions may
bring chastisement (KJV), or discipline (ESV).
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My
son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when
reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises
every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure.
God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does
not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have

participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this,
we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.
Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For
they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he
disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the
moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields
the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
(Hebrews 12:5-11)
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?
(Romans 6:1-2)
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then
take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?
Never! (1 Corinthians 6:15)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from
every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the
fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
The words let us, show us that man has this choice. While God commands this of
us, we still cannot do this by our own strength. We must ask God and let Him act through
us by the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to obey Him. And yet, if we are simply not
able to choose to act out of the new nature in order to serve and glorify God, then we
must believe that we have not yet inherited a new nature. We then are still wandering in

darkness, and can only pray for God to save us. If God has willed it, it will be so that we
are able to pray this way.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the
greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of
God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will
he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap
eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
From Matthew Henry's commentary on 1Corinthians 6:9-11:
Here he takes occasion to warn them against many heinous evils, to which
they had been formerly addicted.
I. He puts it to them as a plain truth, of which they could not be ignorant,
that such sinners should not inherit the kingdom of God. The meanest
among them must know thus much, that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God (1Co_6:9), shall not be owned as true members of his
church on earth, nor admitted as glorious members of the church in

heaven. All unrighteousness is sin; and all reigning sin, nay, every actual
sin committed deliberately, and not repented of, shuts out of the kingdom of
heaven. He specifies several sorts of sins: against the first and second
commandments, as idolaters; against the seventh, as adulterers,
fornicators, effeminate, and Sodomites; against the eighth, as thieves and
extortioners, that by force or fraud wrong their neighbours; against the
ninth, as revilers; and against the tenth, as covetous and drunkards, as
those who are in a fair way to break all the rest. Those who knew any thing
of religion must know that heaven could never be intended for these. The
scum of the earth are no ways fit to fill the heavenly mansions. Those who
do the devil's work can never receive God's wages, at least no other than
death, the just wages of sin,Rom_6:23.
II. Yet he warns them against deceiving themselves: Be not deceived.
Those who cannot but know the fore-mentioned truth are but too apt not to
attend to it. Men are very much inclined to flatter themselves that God is
such a one as themselves, and that they may live in sin and yet die in
Christ, may lead the life of the devil's children and yet go to heaven with
the children of God. But this is all a gross cheat. Note, It is very much the
concern of mankind that they do not cheat themselves in the matters of
their souls. We cannot hope to sow to the flesh and yet reap everlasting
life.

Chapter Twenty Four
The Message of the Bible
The message of the bible is a message of sin and redemption. In the Bible we see
that mans sin caused his separation from God, and brought eternal punishment. But
God, according to His own purpose, has chosen to reveal Himself to a specific group of
people, and has chosen those people to receive the gifts of grace and faith, and to inherit
eternal life, by way of a covenant made within the members of the Godhead. The
Redeemer is Gods own Son, Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh. It is by God's will and
power that the covenant exists. It is His decree. Just as the universe was spoken into
existence, God speaks, or wills, that there will be a people of His own; a people with a
new nature, which He gives them Himself. The covenant which God has made is
unchangeable, and will continue forever. Man cannot change it. The ones He has
chosen are made to receive a new nature, and a special calling. God does this and all
things, for His own glory. The salvation of His elect is carried out through the purpose of
God in election, the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Christ, and by the sanctifying
work of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible contains the story of the Jewish people, the Hebrews. God chose the
Jewish nation to be His people, and to be witnesses to the world. Because of their choice
to disobey God in their worship of other gods and their lack of faith, they were punished
by God, and blinded, so that they could not, as a nation, be saved. Individual Jews and
Gentiles alike are, and always have been, saved by God's grace. Prior to the sacrifice of
Jesus, their salvation was based on their God given faith in His promise to send a

redeemer. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was necessary provide atonement, or
payment, for the sin of God's elect, and to justify His people through the righteousness of
Christ. The blood of Jesus is payment for the sins of both Jews and Gentiles, who have
been chosen by God to receive the gift of His grace. The mystery of the church has
been revealed, and the body of Christ, the temple, is made up of Jew and Gentile; all
those who have been made partakers of the new birth, according to the purpose of God.
The Kingdom is indeed at hand!

Chapter Twenty Five
What is Truth?
Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say
that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have
come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the
truth listens to my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After he had
said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in
him. (John 18:37-38)
We have searched for the truth, and certainly the verses contained in this work are
indeed truth. Yet two distinct systems of belief exist in the church today. Only one of
them is of God. Only one is the correct view of salvation. And only one gives us the truth
about the nature of man, and the nature of God. Truth is absolute, and there cannot exist
two contradictory systems, both of which are true. Salvation is either of man, or of God.

One system has come to be referred to as Arminianism, named after Arminius, who was
one of the remonstrants of the Reformation period. He proposed five points, which
would explain his beliefs. These five points were refuted at the Synod of Dort, by a man
perhaps you are familiar with. A man named John Calvin.
Calvin and his Basic Principals
John Calvin was the most influential protestant of the sixteenth century (150964).
The following is excerpted from The Reformation by Stephen P. Thompson published
1999:
Calvin took the absolute sovereignty of God as his basic principle. God is
omnipotent, free, holy, glorious, just, and good. Human beings are weak,
sinful, depraved, corrupt. They are unable to do any works of merit. All
deserve to perish. However, through the Incarnation God reestablished
contact with humanity, gratuitously granting justification by faith and belief
in Christ as the divine Word, Creator, Redeemer, Prophet, Priest, and King.
Not all are justified. Only the elect truly hear and believe the Gospel.
Election is the work and will fo God, from all eternity, and one's realization
of election in justification by faith is an act of God and the Holy Spirit.
Election is the reason why people respond differently to the preached
Word. All are sinners and justly condemned by god, who in his inscrutable
wisdom and mercy nevertheless eternally elected to save some through
the merits and grace of his Son-Salvation for some, reprobation for all
others. Why did God elect as he did? Because it pleased him to do so.

Election precedes faith: it does not depend on faith; faith, the disciplined
life, and one's calling are but manifestations of it. We are saved by God's
gratuitous mercy; we are damned by our own depravity. Yet everything is
as God ordains. 'He governs heaven and earth by his providence, and
regulates all things in such a manner that nothing happens but according to
his counsel....Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he
has determined in himself, what he would have to become of every
individual of mankind.... Nevertheless God cannot be called the cause of
sin, nor the author of evil, nor subject to any guilt....Man falls as God's
providence ordains, but he falls by his own fault.
Calvin presented his own five points which are remembered using the anagram
TULIP
T -Total Depravity Man is TOTALLY depraved (man has no capacity to choose good;
his nature totally corrupt)
U -Unconditional Election God loves His elect for nothing good in them, but only for His
own glory
L -Limited Atonement Christ shed His blood for the elect only, atoning for their sins and
saving them. He paid the price for the redeemed
I - Irresistible Grace Man's will is not stronger than God's will. If God chooses to save
someone, they will be saved.

P - Perseverance of the Saints The one's God has chosen and are truly saved, will
never be lost, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, will continue to be more and
more holy
Unfortunately, John Calvin, who had great power in Geneva, believed the secular
power should cooperate with, and protect the church. The result was an extensive and
intensive system of social control. The instrument of control was a Consistory of twelve
elders. In the attempts to legislate morality, many were executed. Adulterers, witches,
blasphemers, and traitors were sentenced to death, a child beheaded for striking his
parents. Other infractions included profanity, fighting, dancing, playing cards, carousing,
laughter or loud noises in church, promiscuous bathing, gambling, theatrical
performances, not attending or coming late to services, obstinacy and others. Houses
were checked at random. Many were executed. One cannot help but think that this is
some of the basis of the ease with which some justify their rejection of Calvin's view of
God.
Martin Luther, author of The Bondage of the Will, also espoused very similar views
as did George Whitefield (The father of The Great Awakening in England and America),
Charles H. Spurgeon (the most prolific of all Christian writers), John Knox, and countless
others who are well respected in most churches. Yet when reading their sermons, most
readers are not willing to acknowledge what they are really saying. Remember however,
that we are searching for the truth, and we do not treat men's works as inspired by God,
or as a complete description of the truth. That is why we search the scriptures so
diligently. A.W. Pink in his work A Fourfold Salvation says:

The radical difference between Arminianism and Calvinism is that the
system of the former revolves about the creature, whereas the system of
the latter has the Creator for its centre of orbit. The Arminian allots to man
the first place, the Calvinist gives God that position of honor. Thus the
Arminian begins his discussion of salvation with justification, for the sinner
must believe before he can be forgiven; further back he will not go, for he is
unwilling that man should be made nothing of. But the instructed Calvinist
begins with election, descends to regeneration, and then shows that being
born again (by the sovereign act of God, in which the creature has no part)
the sinner is made capable of savingly believing the Gospel.

Chapter Twenty Six
False Doctrine
False doctrine comes from a either a wrong view of God, or a wrong view of Man. It
comes from either too low an estimate of God, or too high an estimate of man. A religion
that has error in one of these fundamental beliefs, or articles of faith, should be
considered a cult.
The person of Christ - Jesus, is God in the flesh
The work of Christ - Jesus paid the complete price for the salvation of His chosen,
and that man can add nothing to earn his own salvation, grace being unmerited favor.
Salvation is by grace through faith, not works. (This point includes the understanding that

man's nature is totally corrupt and that man has no goodness of his own by nature.) The
requirement that Man must chose God, is considered a work. Repentance is a work.
Faith is a work. Where one or more of these doctrinal errors are to be found, we will most
certainly find a man-centered religion, as opposed to a God-centered salvation, which is
by grace through God given faith. One should closely examine the articles of faith of the
church one has chosen to attend. Many churches on the other hand, do not follow their
own articles of faith in practice, or falsely interpret them. For example, we present a
quote from Erasmus:
...I like to appeal to the authority of the Church Fathers who teach that
certain germinal concepts of the ethical good are within man by his nature,
and that he consequently recognizes and follows in some way the ethical
good, although coarser inclinations are added, enticing him to do the
opposite.
And,
We oppose those who conclude like this: 'Man is unable to accomplish
anything unless God's grace helps him. Therefore there are no good works
of man'. We propose the rather more acceptable conclusion: Man is able to
accomplish all things, if God's grace aids him. Therefore is it is possible
that all works of man be good.
We certainly agree that this is a more acceptable conclusion. One which is
acceptable to many who wish to have credit for their salvation, by the works they do. So
we see that not only does Erasmus does not believe that man is totally corrupt, but he

also does not believe that Christ's blood is sufficient as atonement for our sin, thereby
making possible our salvation. In essence, he denies the grace of God, and makes God
merely our helper. With these beliefs, one could never intelligently even discuss
scripture. It may be one's particular calling however, to minister to such, asking the Holy
Spirit to guide a discussion which may prove fruitful for the Lord's purpose.

Chapter Twenty Seven
Who Then Can Be Saved?
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who
then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25-26)
Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and
your household." (Acts 16:30-31)
How does this all affect the reader? To the unsaved, it could be said that if you are
even at all interested in knowing God, and wondering if God has chosen you; If you feel
sorry for your sins, and wish you could be clean from them, then you have reason for
great joy. For God is speaking to your heart, and planting faith in you. If salvation seems
like a choice to you, fine. We cannot have the perspective that God does. The human
mind cannot fully comprehend this thinking any more that we can fully comprehend the
concept of the Trinity. To be sure, we will try to take credit for the decision in our corrupt

nature. It matters not now. Let God do His work. If God has chosen you, He will reveal
Himself to you. Ask Him to do that. If you can ask Him to reveal Himself to you, it is a
sure bet that God has already begun a work in your heart, because remember a dead
man cannot ask to live. Why don't you find out now?
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things
that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He
fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves
them. (Psalms 145:18-19)
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:21)
You have called upon Him because He first called you.
Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
(Isaiah 65:24)
Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did
not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the
Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. "Seek the LORD while he may
be found; call upon him while he is near; (Isaiah 55:5-6)
Is God speaking to your heart?

Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will
make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
(Isaiah 55:3)
We love Him because He loves us, and calls us first:
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Reader, if you hear His voice, you are one of His sheep and have been called by
Him:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of
my hand. (John 10:27-28)
If God has given you faith by the hearing of His word, and has made Himself known
to you through divine revelation, then He has given you of His Son Jesus Christ, and you
have been chosen by Him to be His own, and to receive the blessing and promise of
eternal life.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us
understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him
who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1
John 5:20)

Chapter Twenty Eight
To Those Who Have Come To Christ
If you are saved you have two natures, and you have the choice to act out of either
nature. As Christians, our purpose is to glorify God by dying to self that we may live.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5)
Acting out of the old nature, acting from and for self, is to rebel against God and His
will. While speaking to fellow Christians, Paul says in his letter to the Galatians:
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption,
but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
(Galatians 6:8)
And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Someone has said that we are dead to the flesh, only when everything we have in
Christ, is all we will ever need. It is only pride that makes us want control of our lives. We
are to instead ask God to control our lives. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us and
act through us. We must thank Him, and ask Him to keep us from ourselves. We are to
give up on ourselves. We are to lay in total submission at His feet. If you have your own
agenda, it is evil. Ask God to give you grace to give it up. Ask Him to perform His will in
and through you. Give Him all the glory for it. It is common for Christians, while born

again of the Holy Spirit, to forget that God is in control of everything in the universe and
that He will direct the life of His children.
Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that
he should choose. (Psalms 25:12)
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his
way; (Psalms 37:23)
As we ask the Lord in faith, He will open doors for us where He wants us to enter. In
the flesh, we are still unable to go where we want, expecting any good outcome. Acting
from the divine nature is allowing God to act through you. Even this is not by our own
will, but His. Jesus Himself has two natures, fully human, and fully divine, and He always
chooses to be a vessel for God's will to be done. He always submits to the Father's will.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of
him who sent me. (John 6:38)
Doing God's will should please us. This is total fulfillment. John Piper says,
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
But it is only through God's grace and by His Spirit that we, in the spirit, can be
satisfied in Him. How many times have Christians tried and tried to overcome some area
of sin in their lives, only to find that they are unable to change themselves? We are not
able to do this with the old nature. We are not able to do this at all. But God acting
through the new and divine nature, can.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

This new nature is not something that we use. We cannot use it really. It is
something that we ask God to work His will through; and that is because it is His nature
acting in us. We ask God to perform in us the things which are in accordance with His
will. The Holy Spirit acting in our spirit, causes us to submit ourselves to God. As a child
of God, born again by His sovereign grace, our focus should be on Jesus. Stay close to
God by reading His word, and by praying regularly. Remember that the new nature is not
designed to act on its own. Jesus demonstrated this for us. He did not act out of His own
human will, but as the will of the Father directed. Be responsive to His will, and in
obedience go wherever He leads, regardless of the difficulties or hardships that you may
encounter.
We must live with a heavenly perspective; an eternal perspective. We may say that
our life with Christ in heaven is more real than the one we are experiencing now on
earth! Let us live with that in our minds and hearts
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which
are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) KJV
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things
that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your
life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Our home is not here. Our life here is so short.
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you
are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)
We must make use of our time.
making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians
5:16)
Whatever position we have in life we must strive to glorify God in all that we do.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
(Colossians 3:23)
You may ask that since God controls everything, why should we bother to share the
Gospel with anyone? As Christians, we have been given the charge to communicate the
gospel to others: We know from the Bible, that we as Christians are commanded and
ordained, to go out into the world, and share the Gospel. The Great Commission, is
found in Matthew, chapter twenty eight:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always,
to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)
and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his
name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these
things. (Luke 24:47-48)

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
(Romans 10:17)
In John chapter twenty one, Jesus says to Peter: Feed My lambs, Feed my sheep,
Feed my sheep.
And so God has chosen this method of using His children as vessels of His will, to
touch other lives, and thereby awaken from the dead those whom He has ordained to
eternal life. This gives glory to God, which is beyond our understanding.
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper
do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand? (Job
26:14)
He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of
truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deuteronomy 32:4) KJV
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)
The one who is truly saved will bear fruit, and will continue to grow.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16)
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who
has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy
2:15)

It is through disciplined obedience and constant training that we are able to apply the
living Word to our lives. As we continue to study the deep things of God, we will progress
in our learning.
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to
maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and
of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1)

Postscript
The study of this subject is, and has been, an awesome task in many aspects. One
must be ruthless to seek the truth at all costs. And there are costs. It requires the total
emptying of oneself. One often feels naked and helpless before God. Attempts to
communicate these truths will certainly be unwelcome, and will be received by few. Many
will cry heresy. Many assent to the truths as they read them, but go off and forget, or
dismiss what they have learned. Most of those who do understand already have been
taught by God as they have traveled along with Him. Only a few seem to be truly
awakened by the revelation of God, and see things fit together for the first time. This is
discouraging, but God's sovereign will is being done, even in that.

We believe that the Bible is for our learning, and as we study the scriptures we must
allow God, the Spirit of Truth, to work in us. In our search for the truth, we have learned
that God is in control of everything that exists. Even our own salvation is beyond our
control. But we cannot however, assume that we now know everything. There is no place
for self-righteousness. God has revealed only what He has to us for a reason. His ways
are higher than ours, and we can only see, through a glass darkly. While what we have
learned here is completely true, we also know that it is not the complete truth. There is
much that exists that is not yet revealed. We have spoken of Gods will and of our will,
yet on a higher level; there is only Gods will. Everything that is or will be has been
decreed by God. While this is beyond human comprehension, God continues to reveal
the truth through His word to His people everywhere. Our prayer for you is:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a
spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes
of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he
has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who
believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,
and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the
one to come. (Ephesians 1:17-21)
Authors note:

I would like to thank the elders of Grace Fellowship Church in Anniston,
Alabama, for their powerful teaching and preaching of the gospel. I
especially thank Dr. Carlton Weathers and Aaron Acker for the input I have
gleaned from them, and for the impact that their love of Christ has had on
my life.

Resources
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Sermons of George Whitefield
Trinity Foundation
The Doctrine of the Covenant in Reformed Theology by Geerhardus Vos
Sermons of Charles Spurgeon
The works of A.W. Pink
Bible computer program, e-Sword
Reformation Theology
Calvinism vs. Arminianism - A Comparison Chart
The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Vol. 1, p. 218)

Further Reading
Lorraine Boettner , The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination,
John Calvin, The Bondage and Liberation of the Will, and Treatises on the Eternal

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III, XXII, 2, 3.
J. Ligon Duncan, III - 12 Lectures on the biblical, theological, and historical study of
Gods Covenants, online at
http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/apologetics/Covenant%20Theology%20&%20Justifi
cation/Ligons_covtheology/02.htm
Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards
G.A. Chan (from the Trinity Foundation), Five Points
John Hendryx, Jesus Christ the Fount of Every Blessing
Homer Hoeksema, The Voices of Our Fathers: An Exposition of the Canons of
Dordrecht
Kenneth S. Latourette, A History of Christianity, II, 765.
Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will
Matthew Henrys, Commentary on Genesis 3:6-8
Matthew Henrys, Commentary on Romans 8:29-30
Jim McClarty, On John3:16 online at
http://www.reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/Total%20Depravity%20revised.htm
I Timothy 2:4 An Exegesis, at www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3018
J.I. Packer, Introduction: On Covenant Theology
A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God
A.W. Pink, The Holy Spirit's Work in Salvation
A.W. Pink, A Fourfould Salvation
Robert L. Reymond, Five Arguments for the Unity of the Covenant of Grace

R. C. Sproul, Video, All Christians Believe in Predestination.
R. C. Sproul, Willing to Believe: The Controversy Over Free Will, 140.
Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Predestination of God & The Secret
Providence of God. 509.
Thomas Scott, The Articles of the Synod of Dort.
Brian Schwertley, Man's Need of Salvation: Total Depravity and Man's Inability, at
http://www.reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/Total%20Depravity%20revised.htm
Charles H. Spurgeon, All of Grace
What is Covenant Theology, online at http://www.gotquestions.org/covenant-
theology.html

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