I could listen to it endlessly! It is beautiful! I am posting it at the end!
Not Chosen To Salvation
By Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
HERITAGE BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH
P.O. Box 573| Walnut Grove, MN 56180 | Telephone (507) 859-2519
CHAPTER THREE
EXHIBITING VERSES ENDORSING MAN'S FREE WILL
1.
Robot's Have No Free Will
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."This is not not referring to God's physical image, as God is spirit; but, rather, to one's personality, mind, will, emotions, intellect and etc. If God created certain people with no free will--then God had no free will, as they were created in the image of God!
God wants us to love Him because He first loves us. How could God be satisfied with a love He, Himself, had to program into those whom He elected to save. This kind of love would be artificial--not real. God's will is that we love Him out of our free will that he gave us.
2.
Is God Unrighteous?
"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."God could not be just and righteous if He elected some for salvation, and not others. You see, the "doctrine of election" makes God unjust and unrighteous; but the free will of man exalts His justice and righteousness, because anyone can be saved if they so choose.
3.
Is God Guilty Of Sinning Against His Own Word?
"But if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."God loves humanity with a greater love (Greek, agape) than we can ever experience until we are saved. Then we have the divine nature (2nd Peter 1:4) implanted within us. Many times it is hard, naturally, to love a person with their bad habits, attitudes, insults and etc. This can only be done through the Holy Spirit which enables us to love that person in spite of their character, the way God loved us before we were saved.
Since God expects us not to have respect of persons, it would discredit the character of God for Him to elect some to be saved and reject others. Since it would be sin for us to show partiality, then God would be guilty of the same if election were true. In other words, God would be instructing us not to do something and then be guilty of doing it Himself. How absurd! Notice Peter's words in Acts 10:34:
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."It now becomes your choice, either to believe God's Word--or election predicated upon the philosophy of men (Psalm 118:8).
4.
God's Will For The Abundant Life.
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."Since it is God's will that the Christian have an abundant life, then why would God wait until some people are much older before saving them? If God has already predetermined and elected some to be saved, then why would He not do it at a very young age? That way they could enjoy being a Christian all of their life instead of maybe the last few years of their life.
John 10:10
In other words, why would God allow a person to waste his life when he could be using it for the Lord if he was saved at an early age? Many drunkards have been saved and still carry the results of that sin with cirrhosis of the liver. Many homes have been broken up because of the parents practicing sin in their lives. Yet, many of these people are saved after one or two divorces. If they were elected to be saved anyway, why would God not have spared them all of this heartache by saving them at an early age? Remember, in John 10:10 it was God's will that we have life and have it abundantly. The "doctrine of election" fades into oblivion when examined under the light of God's Word. The Word of God is like a refiner's fire. In the steel mills, extreme heat is used to melt the steel so the impurities will come to the surface. In like manner, the Word of God is a refiner's fire which brings to the surface the impurities of this false doctrine.
5.
John 3:15-18
"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."The word "world" reveals God's will that all be saved. The word "whosoever" is the opportunity for every man to be saved.
The whole context of these verses are that a person is guilty and condemned because they, themselves, choose not to believe in the same of the only begotten Son of God. These Scriptures are very simple and easy to understand, showing us the will of God and the responsibility of man. Any man can be saved. It is God's will that all be saved, but the choice is entirely up to the discretion of the individual.
6.
John 4:13-14
"Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."Those who endorse election to salvation seem to overlook the word "whosoever.'' The election people very subtly emphasize two statements that appear in verse 14:
"I shall give him..."They claim this endorses God's choosing or electing some to be saved. They claim only those who are saved to whom Christ gives this water. This is the error they make by extracting certain phrases and not adhering to the whole verse. You will notice that Christ offers the living water, but does not make a person drink. You see, Christ offers the water to anyone, but only those who choose to drink of it will have everlasting life. Verse 15 makes this perfectly clear:
"The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw."The woman wanted what Christ had to offer. Here Christ is using literal water, metaphorically, concerning His Word. Maybe you are reading this book and have a thirst for everlasting life? You may, right now, put your trust in Jesus Christ--believing that He died on the cross to pay for your sins. In so doing, you have drunk of the water that Christ offered, by faith, which endures you of receiving God's promise of everlasting life.
7.
John 4:41-42
"And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."Our first question is--"If election were true, why did not all of the people believe on Christ after hearing the testimony of the Samaritan woman?" Notice in verse 39:
"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me that all ever I did."There were many who believed on Christ because of the Samaritan woman's testimony. In verses 41 and 42 we are told that many believed when they heard Christ himself, but would not believe just by hearing the woman's testimony. If they were elected to be saved, then why would they not believe the testimony of the Samaritan woman? The election people state that "whom God had elected possessed irresistible grace"; therefore, how could they have resisted the testimony of the Samaritan woman if they were elected to be saved?
One may reason that, "Well, they were not saved because they would only believe if they heard Christ himself." If that line of reasoning were true, then no one would be saved today because Christ is not here personally, Himself. But in Romans 10:17 the Word of God tells us that:
"...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."If election to salvation were true, then all that heard the testimony of the Samaritan woman would have been unable to resist that word and would have believed. But such is not the case.
The second point of interest is found in verse 42:
"...for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."It does not say "Saviour of the elect" but "Saviour of the world." It is God's will that all be saved. If God elected some to be saved, and not others, He would be going against His own will--which would be impossible.
8.
John 5:23
"That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."Since it is God's will that all should honor Christ, He would be going against His own will if He chose some to be saved and not others. In verse 24 the verse is given to all:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."In verse 24, "he hath" is equivalent and complimentary to the "all men" in verse 23. These verses deal another death-blow to the philosophy of election for salvation.
9.
John 6:51
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."It does not take a theologian to understand that Christ invites ''any man'' to believe on Him, and that He gave His life for the world! This verse is just another nail sealing the lid of the coffin which contains the heretical doctrine of election.
Let us look at verse 54 which is complimentary to verse 51:
"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day."You see, when Scripture agrees with Scripture, there is not even the slightest crack where false doctrine can seep through! This is why it is so important for Christians to study their Bibles and not just sit in church on Sunday mornings listening to a sermon and never opening the pages of God's Word.
10.
John 8:24
"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins."
11.
John 11:25, 26
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"The "whosoever" in verse 26 is equivalent to "he that" in verse 25. These verses reveal to us that man's free will and responsibility stand erect on the solid foundation of God's Word as election crumbles on the stands of philosophy.
12.
John 12:46-48
"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man here my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."These verses reveal the will of God, which is to save the world. The free will of man is clearly seen in God's invitation to "whosoever." God's will was clearly stated when the Bible said that Christ came to "save the world."
If election to salvation were true, here is the dilemma we would find as we compare election philosophy with these verses. Let us analyze the situation. God wants to save the world. The Word of God is given which will judge a person if they reject it. God would then, purposely, hinder and restrict a person from believing the Word He gave them. Then He would, further, judge that person worthy of Hell with the same Word he restricted them from believing. Why? Because they were not elected for salvation!
We are then told that we cannot understand this! I might confirm, at this point, that this is absolutely true. The reason we cannot understand is because it is understandably untrue! One cannot understand something that God is accused of which God did not do. This is the result of twisting and turning the Word of God to make it fit their doctrine, instead of taking the clear teaching of God's Word that states "He came to light every person in the world." Verse 47 states that He came to "save the world." Therefore, the reasoning of the predestinationalist would be totally against the Word, character and righteousness of God.
13.
Acts 2:21
"And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.""Whosoever" means anyone who wishes to do so. The same invitation appears in two other places, Joel 2:32 and Romans 10:13. As we continue in Acts 2, we find out that Peter was speaking to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost and in verse 22 we are told:
"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus and Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."How could God say they had "wicked hands" when He predestinated them to do what they did? If that were true, then it would be God Himself who had wicked hands!
Here we can see the folly of predestination. Keep in mind that Peter is addressing those Jews on the day of Pentecost who had rejected Christ and yet, in verse 21, he advises this same group:
"And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."Even though they had crucified Christ over a month-and-a-half previously, they could still be saved--they could still change their minds and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
As we look at Acts 2:41, we find there were about 3,000 who put their trust in Christ after hearing Peter preach.
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."Our point is simply this, if God had predestinated them to be saved--then why were they not saved when they heard Christ, Himself, preaching? Why, after all the evidence that was given to them by signs and miracles, would they not have believed that Christ was their Messiah--especially if they were predestinated to do so. In other words, they could have resisted the grace that Christ offered to them, which was--Himself, as payment for their sins. You see, they had all the proof that anyone would ever need by the miracles that were done, as Peter reminds them in verse 22 of this chapter. If they were elected to be saved, then why were they not saved when hearing Christ, Himself. No, one can easily see that election to salvation is not a Biblical doctrine; but, rather a sectarian philosophy.
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Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor
HERITAGE BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH
P.O. Box 573
Walnut Grove, MN 56180
Telephone (507) 859-2519
P.O. Box 573
Walnut Grove, MN 56180
Telephone (507) 859-2519
Web: www.heritagebbc.com
It Means Just What It Says!!
[This song truly chokes me up! It is beautiful!!]
When I was a child I was taught how the Bible was God’s infallible word
That He had inspired every line that was written so His voice could be heard
But now folks are saying there’s a new way of thinking, the Bible is not clear
Well friend if you’re needing some interpretation, listen and I’ll bend your ear
Chorus:
Whosoever means whosoever, live forever means we’re never going to die
Forsake us never means that He will never leave us.
Reign forever means He’ll always be the King who rules on high.
No never means our sins are not remembered
A living Savior means that He’s no longer dead.
The Father changes never, the Bible will forever mean just what it says.
I know I’m not the smartest of people you’ve been privileged to meet
I tend to think this life is as simple as we make it out to be
That the faith of a child and the love of Savior will open Heaven’s gate
And that God in his goodness gave a simple Gospel
He even wrote it down that way.
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