Tag Archives: predestined

GOD’S “SCRATCH PATCH”

Apologetics, ,

Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV‬
[4] “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

I love the scratch patch. In case you don’t know what a scratch patch is, let me tell you. A scratch patch is a big room, the floor space covered with semi-precious stones, agates, quartz, tiger eyes etc., all tumbled to silky smoothness, where one can search for and select stones, at very little cost, for whatever purpose you choose.

There are two places in the Western Cape where one can spend hours happily enjoying the beauty of these stones in a scratch patch.

Years ago, when I was holidaying in Cape Town with a friend, we chose to spend a morning at the scratch patch, collecting stones for which we paid R10. We were each given a tin which we could fill with stones of our choice. We spent happy hours sitting on the stones, admiring their beauty and filling our tins with whatever caught our fancy.

Remembering the scratch patch made me think of the Bible’s teaching on election. Many people are puzzled or even offended by the idea that God chooses some people for salvation and sets the rest aside. Some theologians try to justify God’s actions by explaining that God chooses those whom He knows will believe in Him. They understand ‘foreknowledge’ only as God knowing what will happen before it happens.

However, true as that is, there is more to God’s plans than simply rubber-stamping human choices. The Bible also teaches us that God’s choices are subject to His sovereignty, His mercy, and His purposes.

‭Romans 9:16-18 NLT‬
[16] “So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. [17] For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” [18] So,, you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.”

Peter put his finger on this mystery when he preached his first sermon on the day of Pentecost, without trying to explain it.

‭Acts of the Apostles 2:23-24 NLT‬
[23]” But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. [24] But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.”

So, before creation, God chose those who were suited to His plan. Like the stones I didn’t shoose because they simply did not suit my purpose, God had the right to reject all those who did not fit into His plan, and they have no grounds for complaint.

If I had decided to make a necklace of tiger eyes, all the other stones did not qualify. They could not complain that I was being unfair because my choice depended on the reason for which I chose some, not others.

God’s choices have nothing to do with justice and everything to do with mercy. Had He not chosen some for His ‘necklace’, none would have been saved.

What about people’s choices, then? Are we not responsible for what we choose to do? Yes we are but, in God’s mysterious ways, he blends His sovereignty and our responsibility together. The Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and human responsibility although we cannot see where they meet.

God does not randomly choose people for salvation. All are doomed to destruction because of sin. Without God’s intervention, all would be condemned to hell. However, God had a plan before He created anything. He wanted a family of humans like His Son who would live in fellowship with Him and who would rule in God’s kingdom together with Jesus forever.

He would select the ‘stones’ that would fit together perfectly to create His living ‘temple’.

‭1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV‬
[4] ‘As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— [5] you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’

Behind this plan is an even greater motive.

‭Ephesians 3:10-11 NLT‬
[10] “God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. [11] This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭Ephesians 1:6 NLT‬
[6]”So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.”

‭Romans 11:30-32 NLT‬
[30] “Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. [31] Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. [32] For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.”

In this passage, Paul refers ‘everyone’ as Jew and Gentle without distinction rather than everyone without exception.

How can we criticise God and call Him unfair when His glorious purpose in choosing people is to display His mercy? He shows mercy to some, not judgment to all. He put His mercy on display, especially to those spiritual powers that deliberately overthrew His authority and led the nations astray?

The scratch patch may be a simplistic way of trying to explain election without considering God’s inexplicable greatness in all He says, and does. However, perhaps it throws a little light on something too big to explain or understand fully.

We must bow before Him in submission and agree…

‭Deuteronomy 29:29 NLT‬
[29] “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.”

CHOSEN AND PREDESTINED – 2b

Bible Study, ,

Now that we have a better understanding of “chosen”, let’s take a closer look at “predestination”.

‭Romans 8:29 NIV‬
[29] “For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

‭Ephesians 1:12-14 NLT‬
[12] “God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. [13] And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. [14] The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

I have decided to present an entire quote from “gotquestions.com” because I cannot explain predestination any better than this.

“Many people have a strong hostility to the doctrine of predestination. However, predestination is a biblical doctrine. The key is understanding what predestination means, biblically.

“The words translated “predestined” in the Scriptures referenced above are from the Greek word proorizo, which carries the meaning of “determining beforehand,” “ordaining,” “deciding ahead of time.” So, predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. What did God determine ahead of time? According to Romans 8:29-30, God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. Numerous scriptures refer to believers in Christ being chosen (Matthew 24:22, 31; Mark 13:20, 27; Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:5-7, 28; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10). Predestination is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.

“Predestination is an explicitly biblical doctrine. Yet the determination of predestination is not disconnected from the rest of God’s unchanging character (Malachi 3:6). It is connected to His foreknowledge (Romans 8:29, 11:2), His love (Ephesians 1:4-5), and His plan and pleasure (Ephesians 1:5). God’s desire is that all would be saved and come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). Predestination is personal and relational, not capricious.

“The most common objection to the doctrine of predestination is that it is unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? We must remember that no one deserves to be saved. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and are all worthy of eternal punishment (Romans 6:23). As a result, God would be perfectly just in allowing all of us to spend eternity in hell. However, God chooses to save some of us. He is not being unfair to those who are not chosen, because they are receiving what they deserve. God’s choosing to be gracious to some is not unfair to the others. No one deserves anything from God; therefore, no one can object if he does not receive anything from God.

An illustration would be a man randomly handing out money to five people in a crowd of twenty. Would the fifteen people who did not receive money be upset? Probably so. Do they have a right to be upset? No, they do not. Why? Because the man did not owe anyone money. He simply decided to be gracious to some.

“If God is choosing who is saved, doesn’t that undermine our free will to choose and believe in Christ? The Bible says that we have the choice—all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). The Bible never describes God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or turning away anyone who is seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). The truths of God’s sovereign predestination and also man’s responsibility are not mutually exclusive. Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God (John 6:44) and believing unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true.

Romans 11:33 proclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
(got questions.com, article “What is predestination?”)

For the Apostle Paul, then, predestination is not about God being unfair but merciful. Without His mercy, no one has a chance. His mercy provides the motive for everything that Jesus made available to us through His death. Those God chose to be conformed to the image of Jesus form the forever family God wanted He saved because of His mercy.

‭Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT‬
[4] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)”

So, predestination has to do with the DESTINATION of those He CHOSE – to be recreated in the image of His Son.

‭Colossians 3:9-10 NIV‬
[9] “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.9-10.

However, we have not reached the pinnacle of God’s purpose for election and predestination until we realise that it’s all about shining the light on God Himself. Only when God’s glory fills the horison of our thoughts and actions can we understand more clearly what God is about when He acts so graciously towards us.

How can we ever fathom the depths of who God is unless He does what is unfathomable to reveal the measure of His love? All He has done should lead us, first to an outburst of praise….

‭Romans 11:33-36 NLT‬
[33] “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! [34] For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? [35] And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? [36] For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

… And then to a prayer…

‭Ephesians 3:14-19 NLT‬
[14]”When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, [15] the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. [16] I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. [17] Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. [18] And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. [19] May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

CHOSEN AND PREDESTINED – 2a

Bible Study, ,

Ephesians 1:11-12 NIV‬
[11] “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”

God has written some things in His book that are incomprehensible or even distasteful to some people. For example, theologians have tried to argue away or justify the fact that God chooses people. “Since God knows everything,” they say, “He knew who woud believe in Jesus, so He chose them to be saved.”

However, such reasoning is one-sided and incomplete and does not therefore, fit in with Scripture. Instead, it compromises God’s absolute sovereignty and puts people’s freedom to choose as the reason behind God’s choosing. Humans try to explain away God’s apparent unfairness since they think that He is unfair if He arbitrarily chooses some and sends the rest to hell (so it seems)!

Is this true of the God of the Bible? Can we legitimately accuse Him of a travesty of justice like this? If so, then He is no longer God and we can no longer trust His love.

There must be a way to understand the issue of choice without putting God on trial.

First, we must understand the PURPOSE and MOTIVE of His choices. It is not primarily about destination – who goes to heaven and who goes to hell – but about the REASON for predestination.
So, for what purpose does God choose people?

Let’s allow the Apostle Paul to explain.

‭Romans 8:29 NIV‬
[29] “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Let got “questions.com” explain for us.

“The words translated “predestined” in the Scriptures referenced above are from the Greek word proorizo, which carries the meaning of “determining beforehand,” “ordaining,” “deciding ahead of time.” So, predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. What did God determine ahead of time? According to Romans 8:29-30, God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. Numerous scriptures refer to believers in Christ being chosen (Matthew 24:22, 31; Mark 13:20, 27; Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:5-7, 28; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10). Predestination is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.

“Predestination is an explicitly biblical doctrine. Yet the determination of predestination is not disconnected from the rest of God’s unchanging character (Malachi 3:6). It is connected to His foreknowledge (Romans 8:29, 11:2), His love (Ephesians 1:4-5), and His plan and pleasure (Ephesians 1:5). God’s desire is that all would be saved and come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). Predestination is personal and relational, not capricious.

“The most common objection to the doctrine of predestination is that it is unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? We must remember that no one deserves to be saved. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and are all worthy of eternal punishment (Romans 6:23). As a result, God would be perfectly just in allowing all of us to spend eternity in hell. However, God chooses to save some of us. He is not being unfair to those who are not chosen, because they are receiving what they deserve. God’s choosing to be gracious to some is not unfair to the others. No one deserves anything from God; therefore, no one can object if he does not receive anything from God.

An illustration would be a man randomly handing out money to five people in a crowd of twenty. Would the fifteen people who did not receive money be upset? Probably so. Do they have a right to be upset? No, they do not. Why? Because the man did not owe anyone money. He simply decided to be gracious to some.

“If God is choosing who is saved, doesn’t that undermine our free will to choose and believe in Christ? The Bible says that we have the choice—all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). The Bible never describes God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or turning away anyone who is seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). The truths of God’s sovereign predestination and also man’s responsibility are not mutually exclusive. Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God (John 6:44) and believing unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true. Romans 11:33 proclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
(Copied from gotquestion.com, article entitled “What is predestination?”)

What is foreknowledge?

Once more, we look to the Bible to explain itself.

“Foreknowledge is knowing things or events before they exist or happen. In Greek, the term for “foreknowledge” is prognosis, which expresses the idea of knowing reality before it is real and events before they occur. In Christian theology, foreknowledge refers to the all-knowing, omniscient nature of God whereby He knows reality before it is real, all things and events before they happen, and all people before they exist…. “

“The Bible teaches that God’s children were chosen beforehand, and God’s foreknowledge was involved. The elect are those “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29).

However…

“The foreknowledge of God is farther than His ability to “see the future”; His foreknowledge is a true “knowing” of what will come to pass, based on His free choice. He decrees what will come to pass. In other words, foreknowledge is not just intellectual; it is personal and relational.”
(gotquestion.com, article entited “What is foreknowledge in the Bible?”)

What the Bible is saying, then, is that
God chose people to be conformed to the image of Jesus because it gave Him pleasure to do so. He also chose them, called them, and conformed them to the image of Jesus because He knew and decided it would happen before it happened.

‭Ephesians 1:11 NLT‬
[11] “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makesp everything work out according to his plan.”

God’s foreknowledge and predestination is reason, then, not to complain but to celebrate as a revelation of His mercy and grace.

CHOSEN AND PREDESTINED

Bible Study, ,

CHOSEN AND PREDESTINED

In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory (Eph. 1: 11-12).

Do you remember when you used to pick petals off a daisy? “He loves me, he loves me not,” you would say as you tossed each petal aside, hoping fervently that the last one would be ”He loves me!”

Some people think that God treats people like that. He sits in heaven, sorting people out, muttering, “One for heaven, one for hell,” while the angels look on. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple or as unlikely as that.

“Predestination” has puzzled and divided people into two theological camps since the days when Paul wrote his letters. One group adamantly champions the theological persuasion called “Calvinism” because John Calvin was the first to flesh out Paul’s teaching into a full-blown theological treatise.

“The five points of Calvinism can be summarized by the acronym TULIP. T stands for total depravity, U for unconditional election, L for limited atonement, I for irresistible grace, and P for perseverance of the saints . . . http://www.gotquestions.org/calvinism.html – retrieved December 2015.

Calvin’s teaching highlights the sovereignty of God. Let’s talk about the L and I in TULIP.

“Limited Atonement – Because God determined that certain ones should be saved as a result of God’s unconditional election, He determined that Christ should die for the elect alone. All whom God has elected and for whom Christ died will be saved (Matthew 1:21; John 10:11; 17:9; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 5:25).


“Irresistible Grace – Those whom God elected He draws to Himself through irresistible grace. God makes man willing to come to Him. When God calls, man responds (John 6:37, 44; 10:16) . . .

“While all these doctrines have a biblical basis, many people reject all or some of them. So-called “four-point Calvinists” accept Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints as biblical doctrines. Man is definitely sinful and incapable of believing in God on his own. God elects people based on His will alone – election is not based on any merit in the person chosen. All those whom God has chosen will come to faith. All those who are truly born-again will persevere in their faith. As for Limited Atonement, however, four-point Calvinists believe that atonement is unlimited, arguing that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just for the sins of the elect . . .”

http://www.gotquestions.org/calvinism.html – retrieved December 2015.

Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch theologian who lived from 1560-1609, argued vigorously for the freedom of man to choose to believe in Jesus or not. While Calvin championed the sovereignty of God, Arminius stood for human responsibility.

“In general, Arminians believe there is an “intermediate” state between total depravity and salvation. In this state, made possible by prevenient grace, the sinner is being drawn to Christ and has the God-given ability to choose salvation . . .

“Calvinism sees the atonement as limited, while Arminianism sees it as unlimited. This is the most controversial of the five points. Limited atonement is the belief that Jesus only died for the elect. Unlimited atonement is the belief that Jesus died for all, but that His death is not effectual until a person receives Him by faith . . .

“So, in the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate, who is correct? It is interesting to note that in the diversity of the body of Christ, there are all sorts of mixtures of Calvinism and Arminianism . . .  Many believers arrive at some sort of mixture of the two views. Ultimately, it is our view that both systems fail in that they attempt to explain the unexplainable. Human beings are incapable of fully grasping a concept such as this. Yes, God is absolutely sovereign and knows all. Yes, human beings are called to make a genuine decision to place faith in Christ unto salvation. These two facts seem contradictory to us, but in the mind of God they make perfect sense.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/Calvinism-vs-Arminianism.html – retrieved December 2105.

However, we must not lose sight of the fact that Paul was not so much presenting a doctrine as a reason to worship God for His grace and mercy to them. Against the background of the evils that went in in the city of Ephesus, he worshipped God for wonders of the mercy he had revealed to his readers who were part of those whom God has chosen to be His family of blessed people. He has done everything in Christ “to the praise of His glory.”

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

Chosen And Predestined

Bible Study, , ,

CHOSEN AND PREDESTINED

In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory (Eph. 1: 11-12).

Do you remember how you used to pick petals off a daisy? “He loves me, he loves me not,” you would say as you tossed each petal aside, hoping fervently that the last one would be ”He loves me!”

Some people think that God treats people like that. He sits in heaven, sorting people out, muttering, “One for heaven, one for hell,” while the angels look on. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple or as unlikely as that.

“Predestination” has puzzled and divided people into two theological camps since the days when Paul wrote his letters. One group adamantly champions the theological persuasion called “Calvinism” because John Calvin was the first to flesh out Paul’s teaching into a full-blown theological treatise.

“The five points of Calvinism can be summarized by the acronym TULIP. T stands for total depravity, U for unconditional election, L for limited atonement, I for irresistible grace, and P for perseverance of the saints . . . http://www.gotquestions.org/calvinism.html – retrieved December 2015.

Calvin’s teaching highlights the sovereignty of God. Let’s talk about the L and I in TULIP.

“Limited Atonement – Because God determined that certain ones should be saved as a result of God’s unconditional election, He determined that Christ should die for the elect alone. All whom God has elected and for whom Christ died will be saved (Matthew 1:21; John 10:11; 17:9; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 5:25).


“Irresistible Grace – Those whom God elected He draws to Himself through irresistible grace. God makes man willing to come to Him. When God calls, man responds (John 6:37, 44; 10:16) . . .

“While all these doctrines have a biblical basis, many people reject all or some of them. So-called “four-point Calvinists” accept Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints as biblical doctrines. Man is definitely sinful and incapable of believing in God on his own. God elects people based on His will alone – election is not based on any merit in the person chosen. All those whom God has chosen will come to faith. All those who are truly born-again will persevere in their faith. As for Limited Atonement, however, four-point Calvinists believe that atonement is unlimited, arguing that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just for the sins of the elect . . .”

http://www.gotquestions.org/calvinism.html – retrieved December 2015.

Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch theologian who lived from 1560-1609, argued vigorously for the freedom of man to choose to believe in Jesus or not. While Calvin championed the sovereignty of God, Arminius stood for human responsibility.

“In general, Arminians believe there is an “intermediate” state between total depravity and salvation. In this state, made possible by prevenient grace, the sinner is being drawn to Christ and has the God-given ability to choose salvation . . .

“Calvinism sees the atonement as limited, while Arminianism sees it as unlimited. This is the most controversial of the five points. Limited atonement is the belief that Jesus only died for the elect. Unlimited atonement is the belief that Jesus died for all, but that His death is not effectual until a person receives Him by faith . . .

“So, in the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate, who is correct? It is interesting to note that in the diversity of the body of Christ, there are all sorts of mixtures of Calvinism and Arminianism . . .  Many believers arrive at some sort of mixture of the two views. Ultimately, it is our view that both systems fail in that they attempt to explain the unexplainable. Human beings are incapable of fully grasping a concept such as this. Yes, God is absolutely sovereign and knows all. Yes, human beings are called to make a genuine decision to place faith in Christ unto salvation. These two facts seem contradictory to us, but in the mind of God they make perfect sense.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/Calvinism-vs-Arminianism.html – retrieved December 2105.

However, we must not lose sight of the fact that Paul was not so much presenting a doctrine as a reason to worship God for His grace and mercy to them. Against the background of the evils that went in in the city of Ephesus, he worshipped God for wonders of the grace mercy He had revealed to His readers who were part of those whom God has chosen to be His family of blessed people. He has done everything in Christ “to the praise of His glory.”

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?