Predestination
Part 3 of 4
December 2004
(Modified: March 2008)
Predestination: God (supposedly) determined, chose, elected, or foreordained human beings to eternal happiness or damnation before the foundation of the world according to Apostle Paul’s teachings. The teaching of predestination is that, the decision of mankind to be saved or not is strictly that of the Sovereign God alone, and mankind has absolutely no say in the matter. The decision by God is supposedly unconditional and it is assured. (1) There is absolutely nothing one can do or not do that will negatively affect his/her salvation; (2) there is absolutely nothing one can do or not do that will positively affect his/her damnation. Church of Jesus Christ, this is all very well, but this is nowhere parallel to what Jesus Christ preached. The term predestination is not found in the Old Testament nor in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The predestination doctrine is not introduced to Believers by Jesus Christ, but is introduced through Apostle Paul’s writings. Why would Jesus deliberately withhold from those listening to His Gospel message of salvation that they were predestined to forever be in the presence of God no matter what they did, or they were predestined to burn incessantly in hell even if they tried to live a holy life. Isn’t that rather odd? Without doubt, God does not speak out of both sides of His mouth by sending Jesus with one message of salvation, and sending Apostle Paul with another. The variance in Jesus’ and Paul’s salvation messages generate confusion and where confusion is, God is not there. Church, the doctrine of predestination did not originate with God and is therefore heresy.
Dear Church-going people, keep in mind that the Bible is written to God’s people, the Believers, the saved and not to the unsaved. (Unsaved people don’t want to hear what God has to say.) If salvation is predestined, what’s the point in even bothering to read the Bible let alone walk in its teachings? What’s the point in being Born Again? What’s the point in living holy? (Note: Most so-called Christians of this point of view tend not to live lives of holiness; they feel that they don’t have to – they are predestined to eternal happiness with The Lord and have nothing to do but live life happily as they themselves will.) If mankind were predestined for salvation...
why the Great Commission instructing The Church to go into all the world teaching obedience to what Jesus taught? (Matthew 28:19-20)
why is power given to become sons of God if salvation is already a shoe-in? (John 1:12)
why are many called but few are chosen if already destined for eternal happiness? (Matthew 20:16)
why did Jesus say that if one endures to the end, they will be saved? (Matthew 10:22)
why did God send salvation to Gentiles for them to hear and want to receive it? (Isaiah 42:6)
Hebrews 5:9 puts it in proper understanding by saying…
And being made perfect, he [Jesus] became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).
That verse of Scripture is saying, YOU have got your part to do in the matter of salvation and that is, OBEY - obey all of God’s Word by choosing to do right over doing wrong – moral works it’s called. When you obey, you have to choose to do what God commands or sin by not doing what He commands. That clearly is moral works and that clearly is not a predestined Believer who has nothing to do because, as the predestinarians believe, it would be considered works of the Law and those supposedly were nailed to the cross with Jesus. The question is: are people predestined to salvation or not and the answer is emphatically, no!
Church-going people, the predestination train is right now being wrecked by God, even though it has been traveling on the rails of heresy for 2000-plus years. Church-going people, you have to make the choice to get off now while you can or remain on board and die.
Paul, His
Predestination Teaching, And The Pseudepigrapha
Works
According to the early Jewish historian, Josephus, in his “Antiquities of
the Jews,” the Pharisees…
determine that all things are done by fate [destiny] they do not take away the freedom from men of acting as they think fit... (The Life And Works Of Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston. The John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, p 530, 1900).
Josephus further states in “Wars Of The Jews” that the Pharisees…
Ascribe all to fate [destiny], and to God, and yet allow that to act what is right, or the contrary, is principally in the power of men, although fate does co-operate in every action (Ibid, p 676).
The position the Pharisees adopted on predestination was clearly smack-dab in the middle of the two other leading religious sects at that time, one being the Sadducees who believed that God didn’t intrude in the lives of mankind, and the Essenes who believed that God did. As can be seen from this, predestinarians were around before Apostle Paul began his ministry, so that belief was nothing new, and being a Pharisee, he was fully indoctrinated in the teaching. Remember, Paul was a Pharisee immovable by his declaration made in Philippians where he says of himself: “an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5). He also said of himself, in the present tense, “I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee…” (Acts 23:6). Paul, who had become Born Again, still referred to himself as a Pharisee. Paul is not excused from referring to himself as a Pharisee, because deep in his heart he had not let go of a lot of the Pharisaical teachings. Paul did not totally relinquish Phariseeism when he became Born Again, including not giving up the teaching on predestination. In fact, Paul elevated the teaching when he mixed it with his teachings on Christianity.
Saints of God, the teaching on predestination did not originate with God. It is nowhere in the Old Testament but yet, it was a Jewish teaching that arose sometime during the 450 years between Malachi and the Gospel when God was not speaking to the Jewish people. There were no prophets during that time that is known as the Intertestamental Period because the Jewish people were in total rebellion and consequently in bondage under Greek and Roman rules.
Jews did not stop writing for centuries between the Old Testament and the New. The Intertestamental Period was a time of much literary production. We designate these writings as Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha…They did not attain canonical status, but some of them were cited by early Christians almost on a level with the Old Testament writings, and a few were copied in biblical manuscripts. Some New Testament authors were familiar with various non-canonical works, and the Epistle of Jude [Jude 14-15] made specific reference to at least one of these books. They were ultimately preserved by the Christians rather than by the Jews. (Holman Bible Dictionary. Trent C. Butler; Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN, P 69, 1991.)
Apocrypha, meaning "things that are concealed" or works not inspired by God. These are 15 books that were written between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100. Pseudepigrapha, meaning "writings falsely attributed" to well-known Bible personalities, thus considered counterfeit. The Old Testament pseudepigrapha works contain 52 writings that were forged under the names of highly venerated men of God so that the message of the writer had some credibility.
These books are considered legendary and untrustworthy. They are uninspired. They were not accepted into the Christian or Jewish canon of Scripture. (A Manual of Church History: Volume I. Albert Henry Newman. American Baptist Publication Society; Philadelphia, PA, p 42, 1911.)
These works are false – dishonest, and regardless of the mere fact that deception is embraced, the works are not from God because He would never encourage such lies. It’s clear that Satan with his vast knowledge is behind the deception to throw Believers off-track in their defense against the gates of hell triumphing over the Church of Jesus Christ. These works may not have been intentionally fraudulent, but are fraudulent nonetheless and truly are untrustworthy. They are uninspired by God. Think about it, if God wasn’t speaking to the Jewish people, then Satan was positively unmistakably speaking to those writers. Satan was certainly speaking because of the clashes between those writings and the writings that were inspired by God through His true prophets, and His Son Jesus Christ.
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What The
Pseudepigrapha |
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What Apostle Paul |
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And Vrevoil [Archangel] instructed me for 30 days and 30 nights, and his mouth never stopped speaking. And, as for me, I did not rest, writing all the symbols and all the creatures. And when I had finished 30 days and 30 nights, Vrevoil said to me, ‘These things, whatever I have taught you, whatever you have learned, and whatever we have written down, you sit down and write – all the souls of men, whatever of them are not yet born, and their places, prepared for eternity. For all the souls are prepared for eternity [predestined], before the composition [creation] of the earth.’ And I sat down for a second period of 30 days and 30 nights, and I wrote everything accurately (2 Enoch 23:3-5). (Charlesworth, James H. “The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1. Doubleday, New York, p 140, 1983.) …even before any person was in his mother’s womb, individually a place I prepared for each soul [predestined], as well as a set of scales and a measurement of how long he intends him to live in this world, so that each person may be investigated with. Yes, children, do not deceive yourselves; for ahead of the time a place has been prepared there for each human soul [predestination] (2 Enoch 49:2-3). (Charlesworth, James H. “The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1. Doubleday, New York, p 176, 1983.) |
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For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified (Romans 8:29-30). Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace (Romans 11:5) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will…(Ephesians 1:4-5). In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (Ephesians 1:11). Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (2 Timothy 1:9).
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Being the educated man that Paul was, without doubt, he studied the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha writings of the 450-year period known as the Intertestimental period because those writings were spiritual in nature and were widely read by the Jews. In Paul’s Epistles covering other than predestination there are entirely too many parallels to those writings which is evidence that he’d studied them. Paul was a Pharisee and Pharisaical training was complete – very thorough which meant those works were studied as being revelation from God even though God hadn’t spoken to Israel during those 450 years. As always, the question is asked: if God wasn’t speaking to Israel, who was? Satan, of course is the answer. With Satan being against God and predestination is against God’s plan of salvation, who do you believe relative to salvation, Paul or Jesus?
The Gift Of Salvation Is Not
Predestined
Nowhere in God’s Word (Old Testament and the Gospel of Jesus Christ) does it say that some of mankind were chosen for salvation and some were not. Every human being God made, due to ordinary/common grace, can receive salvation if they so choose. It’s “if” they so choose because God will never force anyone to receive salvation or to love Him. Salvation is God’s fulfillment of making the road to the Tree of Life/eternal happiness available to all of mankind. The Tree of Life/eternal happiness is there for mankind to work toward. Yes, “work” toward as in making moral choices in life. Mankind is beginning to grab hold of the Tree of Life when they grab hold of the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. (As God is obligated to provide all mankind with food, shelter, and clothing, He is also obligated to provide them with the plan of salvation because not a single human being asked to be created. God showed He fulfills His moral duties as a Father when He made clothes for Adam and Eve after they sinned. Yet, He’ll never force anyone to receive His gifts, not even salvation.)
The gift of salvation has hinged to it "faith" and holy living (in Jesus Christ). Faith in Jesus is believing Him; believing all of His Word; and walking in all of His Word. This means not selecting to believe what one wants and living like one wants. Should mankind choose to live life the way they will and not God's prescribed way, then they lose out on salvation. Matthew 8:12 says that the children of the Kingdom (Church people/Born Again Believers) shall be cast out into outer darkness due to lack of faith/unbelief. As free moral agents exercising free will, yes, “free will”, one must choose to believe or not to believe all of God's Word and walk in it. This means one must choose what is morally right over wrong. If one believes God’s Word, then they will obey it and have eternal happiness forever in the presence of The Lord.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:16-18).
These Believers don’t get faith automatically slapped upon them since supposedly they are predestined for salvation; this faith comes only after the Believer puts forth the effort by making the free will choice to believe wholeheartedly what the Word of God says and walk in it wholeheartedly.
Adam and Eve were not predestinated. Had they been, God wouldn’t have mind if they had eaten from the Tree of Life/eternal happiness, but He did mind.
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 (Genesis 3:22-23).
God quickly had the angels guard the Tree of Life so that Adam and Eve would have to take the “normal route of salvation” in order to be rewarded the privilege of eating from the Tree of Life or having eternal happiness forever in the presence of The Lord, which they lost when they sinned. The “normal route of salvation” is…
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).
For with thee [God] is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light (Psalm 36:9).
This right here alone tells you that predestination was never in God’s plan of salvation being that He didn’t willy-nilly give eternal happiness to Adam and Eve after they sinned.
Initially, Adam and Eve had no need to eat from the Tree of Life because they had absolutely no idea what “good” was nor what “evil” was being that they never disobeyed God. It wasn’t until they followed their conscience, after the lie from Satan, and willingly chose to do morally wrong by disobeying God’s command not to eat from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17) that they knew that they had sinned. It was then that they knew the difference between good and evil. (Adam and Eve had within them the potential to sin but had never been exposed to sin until they actually ate of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” at which time they learned what sin was.)
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life... (Proverb 11:30).
The root of the righteous yieldeth fruit (Proverb 12:12).
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).
Here is the “fruit of righteousness” and “the root of the righteous” yielding fruit only because of the vine, Jesus Christ, whom Believers abide in in order to have much fruit produced in them. Jesus is the only way for this fruit to manifest in the Believer and that doesn’t happen due to predestination. Fruit is produced in the Believer in Jesus because of the Believer’s obedience to God’s commandments and by making moral choices – to sin or not to sin.
There is rhyme and reason to God’s plan of salvation. Remember Isaiah 45:22? “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Forever be reminded, mankind has to totally look to God for salvation and direction in life because there is no other way – not predestination, but The Lord only.
Blessed are they that do his commandments [choices/moral works/deeds], that they may have right to the tree of life… (Revelation 22:14).
What It Is To Do Moral Works
In The Plan Of Salvation
Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work [choices he makes in life] (Psalm 62:12).
Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works [choices] with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties (Psalm 141:4).
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works [choices he makes in life] (Proverb 24:12).
there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments [choose to obey them] (Matthew 19:17).
If ye love me, keep my commandments [choose to obey them] (John 14:15).
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them [chooses to obey them], he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (John 14:21).
If ye keep my commandments [choose to obey them], ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love (John 15:10).
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works [chose to offer a sacrifice from the ground] were evil, and his brother's righteous (I John 3:12).
In summary, God’s Word puts Believers on notice that they have their part to do when they say yes to receiving the gift of salvation – moral works, and that those moral works or the choices they make in life will be judged by Him. One has to choose to obey God’s Word/Commandments or ignore them as in disobeying. This judgment will determine who will go to the left with the goats or to the right with the Sheep based on the choices made in life – the moral works.
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works [actions in regard to the decision to be righteous and holy or disobedient to God’s commandments] (Matthew 16:27).
Saints, these are not works of righteousness that had to be done to bring the prospective Believer to salvation; there is no such thing. When God knocked on the door of the prospective Believer’s heart, the prospective Believer had to choose to open up and let Him in; God did not force His way in. Once God was allowed in, He presented His case to the prospective Believer by spelling out the criterion that had to be met (effort/work) or that had to be activated in the Believer's life before God would, by His loving kindness/grace, give the prospective Believer the opportunity to posses the kingdom in the end and eat from the Tree of Life. The prospective Believer had to want salvation before becoming Born Again, and once Born Again, has to believe the essential teachings while living them, for God to make and keep him/her as a True Born Again-er headed for eternal happiness. No, it’s not “once save, always saved” and “Jesus did it all” but it’s about mankind as free moral agents making moral choices/works in life by choosing to obey God’s Word or not – choosing to sin or not sin. Church, this was why Jesus came preaching a moral Gospel with consequences because salvation hinges on the free willed individual’s moral choices/works with respect to his/her every thought, word, and action. (This is without a doubt free will and it goes hand-in-hand with moral works.)
Predestination Denies Free Will
the will is the great moving, acting power of the soul…it lies at the foundation of moral character. Without the will we could never obey or disobey any Divine command. We could never do anything, good or evil. (Lectures on Christian Theology by Enoch Pond, D.D. Congregational Board of Publications, Boston, 1867, p. 261.)
Man is either good or evil and in being so, it means man is free to make moral choices that are either good or evil because God doesn’t create evil. This is free will. One cannot be good or evil unless free to make moral choices in life. The will in Christians is to choose what is morally right over what is morally wrong. This is an effort – this is work or labor. Saints, you cannot go through life casually believing Jesus did it all and you have nothing to do because you’re saved no matter what. Saints, God’s Word, The Bible, is Covenant, and as with any covenant, it is conditional. With God, however, He will do all that He says He will do provided Believers do what He prescribed in The Bible. Remember, The Bible is written to covenant people/Born Again-ers, and not to the sinners of the world. God has yet set before His people the choice of life or death; blessing or cursing, and urges each through His Word to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). No, that was not just for the Hebrew children and nor was it nailed to the cross with Jesus. As long as all live and are free moral agents, we will have to make the choice between life without sin or death by sin; blessing or cursing.
A free moral agent makes decisions to obey or not to obey God’s Word – to sin or not to sin. Sin is strictly a matter of one choosing to sin willfully, and if one sins willfully, that same one can also say no to sin because he is not a puppet on God’s strings. If man is not a free moral agent, then yes, he would be a marionette with God or Satan moving the strings, but God never intended it that way. (God wants us to love and serve Him because we choose to love Him; not forced.) If God made us puppets, there would be no choices to make. If it is “once save, always saved” and “Jesus did it all”, then the Believer has no choices to make. Keep in mind, making choices is work – it’s putting into action your decision to do or not to do something.
God set life and death before mankind which leaves them responsible for making moral choices to do good rather than not while in this life on earth. Again, this means, salvation is conditional – contingent upon holiness and righteousness resulting from the right and wrong choices made in life. Predestination precludes this teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The below Scriptures (a very few) are testimony that the Born Again Believer is a free moral agent that must do moral "work" by making choices to do what is morally right before God, or else is held accountable for sinning by choosing death and curses.
I have set before you life and death…therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19). – YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE TO WANT ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH MEANS YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE THE CHOICE TO DO WHAT IS MORALLY RIGHT AT ALL TIMES, AND AT ANY COST!
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord… (Isaiah 1:18-19). In verse 19 God says, if you are willing and obedient – YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE TO NO LONGER WANT SIN IN YOUR LIFE!
Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin (Ezekiel 18:30). – YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE TO STOP BREAKING GOD’S LAW, HIS HIGH HOLY STANDARD OR ELSE IT IS DEATH!
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction…Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14). – IF INSTRUCTED TO ENTER THE STRAIT GATE RATHER THAN THE BROAD GATE, MEANS YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE THE WAY OF LIFE THAT LEADSS YOU THROUGH THE STRAIT GATE.
Free will brings humans to resist or accept good and evil – remember the “tree of good and evil” in Genesis 3 that Adam and Eve ate from it? 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 (Genesis 3:22).
Adam and Eve did not know sin even though they were quite capable of sinning. It was when they “chose” to eat the forbidden fruit that they knew sin – they then knew the difference between good and evil. Adam and Eve then had to choose good over evil for the rest of their lives. All of mankind is free to choose between good and evil – to sin or not to sin. To be able to eat from the Tree of Life one has to first take on God’s plan of salvation and as a free moral agent, choose to obey God’s Word or not. As free moral agents, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s directive to not eat from the Tree of Good and Evil. Predestination does not allow that freedom of choice.
Whether you want to believe it or not, predestination, if it were true-life, would genuinely make human beings puppets and people are not puppets because they alone make choices in their lives. If humans don’t have free will to make choices, then God would have to bear the blame for all their sins, and that most certainly is not His plan. Predestination throws the sin of mankind back on God. Human beings, in a micro-second, have to always decide whether to sin or not, in spite of some so-called Christians believing that to not be possible. Christians with the Holy Ghost will more than likely, at the nudging of the Holy Ghost, think about God before committing a sin – think on whether to sin or not. After all, that’s one of the primary reasons for the Holy Ghost to have been sent back after Jesus’ resurrection. Granted, even the Holy Ghost will not “make” anyone do right but will convict the spirit and the person still has to choose to do right or not. That is free-will! That’s not predestination! Free-will and predestination conflict because free-will makes human beings accountable for the choices they make in life and is the determinant as to if one gets to eat from the Tree of Life/eternal happiness.
I will also give thee [Jesus] for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest [possibly will; may perhaps; can] be my salvation unto the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).
“Mayest” is clearly stating a possibility of Jesus being the Gentiles salvation. That being the case, predestination was never a done deal with God. No human being was ever ordained by God for salvation. If people are ordained by God for salvation, then perhaps that Scripture would have read “that thou be my salvation unto the end of the earth” of course omitting the verb “mayest.” The fact that the word “mayest” is a verb means that there is action to come and there is no action to come if one is predestined (it was all taken care of before the foundation of the world). No action to come means no choices for mankind to make – no free will. Predestination does not allow for free will; it denies free will - action as in moral works/choices made by free will agent.
The Tree Of Life Precludes
Predestination
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him (Genesis 4:3-7).
Their offerings were deeds/works done in obedience to God’s plan of salvation, even though Cain’s offering wasn’t satisfactory, it was voluntary nonetheless. God addresses that in Leviticus when He says, “If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord….he shall offer it of his own voluntary will…” (Leviticus 1:2-3). It’s about choice – free will in everything humans do.
As time went on, God revealed more of His plan of salvation to mankind and eventually it came to Abraham having complete faith in God that is also required in the plan. Abraham also made sacrifices/works/deeds to God as proof that that was still required of mankind. It might be added here that these were carnal works and God doesn’t require that anymore. About the time of Moses, God’s plan of salvation included laws to follow – the Ten Commandments, and other ordinances along with sacrifices, faith, and obligatory holy days, including Saturday Sabbath, even though that was established way back in Genesis.
It is obedience to God and a life of holiness (moral works/deeds) that brings mankind to the reward of eternal happiness and this does not at all sound like predestination. This is vital to salvation – to be granted everlasting life. In God’s plan of salvation, one doesn’t just follow the plan on their own, but they must now grab hold of Jesus and the Gospel of the Kingdom of God/Heaven, and He instructs them and leads them to everlasting life – The Tree of Life. God revealed more about His plan of salvation or path to salvation and the reward of eating from the Tree of Life/eternal happiness when He sent His only begotten Son.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever [of mankind] believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Adam and Eve had to be removed immediately from the Garden before they could eat from the Tree of Life and become "saved" forever without undergoing the consequences of their sin of disobedience to God. Too, should they have eaten, it would have thwarted God’s plan for populating the earth, because when you eat from the Tree of Life, that’s the end of the road so to speak and there is no marrying and having children at that point. Also, it would have been most unfair of them to skip to the front of the line without doing anything to get to eternal happiness whereas the rest of mankind would have to present moral works/deeds/choices in life. Because of the end of time and the use of the Tree of Life, God had to guard the tree.
So he [God] 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 3:24).
God divorced Himself from Adam & Eve by expelling and excluding them from the Garden. There is no cheating and scheming to get there because the Cherubims are guarding the way. When God divorces Himself from mankind, they don’t have eternal life – they must seek it because there is no predestination.
Saints, the Tree of Life is not to be eaten from until the end of time when both the Father and the Son are dwelling on earth.
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2).
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14).
If you want eternal life or to eat from The Tree Of Life, you must seek it while on this journey through life as you fast approach the end. Church, predestination doesn’t fit into the scheme of God’s salvation plan. Adam and Eve were sent into The World – “He sent them forth” – “He drove them out.” This signified the exclusion of mankind from the very presence of God without special consideration or dispensation. Without righteousness due to their disobedience, Adam and Eve were ordinary weak human beings without the Spirit of The Lord. God’s Holy Spirit had departed from them – communion with God was lost and they now had to learn righteousness and holiness in order to commune with The Living God because they had not been predestined. They were chased out of The Garden into the world – not sent to hell ■ Adam and Eve were sent to a labor camp/WORK, not to hell ■ they were sent back to the ground from whence they came; not to the grave ■ this was a probationary period just as it is for today’s Believers – to get the Believer to act in obedience to God before being blessed with Godly communion and eternal happiness.
The Cherubims were there to keep the way that led to the tree of life, so that Adam and Eve couldn’t steal their way back in before learning and walking in righteousness and holiness.
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Jesus: Word – God’s message to mankind about salvation – the Gospel of the Kingdom ≈ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6) ― This is not predestination!2.
Jesus: Vine ≈ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15:5) ― This is not predestination!3.
Jesus: Light ≈ I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12) ― This is not predestination!4.
Jesus: Bread ≈ I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst (John 6:35). ≈ I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever (John 6:51) ― This is not predestination!5.
Jesus: Life§
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life (John 5:40). (Who needs Jesus for life if predestined?)§
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40)§
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47).§ I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish (John 10:28)
§ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14). (Who needs to enter through the strait gate if predestinated?)
§ I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9). (Who needs to enter through the door if predestinated?)
None of this could possibly be interpreted as predestination!
To get to the Tree of Life is not a hop-skip-and-a-jump by claiming predestination or “once saved, always saved – it’s “l-i-v-i-n-g” the Word of God by making the right choices in life as a free moral agent until He comes in glory.
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Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life [Tree of Life/eternal happiness], and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14). |
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Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14). |
There is no word from God Himself about mankind being predestined to eternal happiness or eternal damnation. In Mark 10:17 when the man ran up and knelt before Jesus asking what he should do to inherit eternal life, if God had already determined who would and who would not be saved before the foundation of the world, why didn’t Jesus reply to the man, “Oh, don’t worry, you were chosen before the foundation of the world.” No, instead, Jesus told the man the truth. He talked to the man about the commandments of God meaning that mankind is to obey them and give up what the world offers if they want eternal life by making moral choices/works as they go through the straight gate. Predestination has no place in God’s plan of salvation and is justifiably precluded.
Conclusion
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Myth 1: We are preordained to salvation |
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Myth 4: If foreordained, you’re a victim of God’s choice. |
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Myth 2: Those predestined for salvation respond to the Gospel on their own |
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Myth 5: No amount of sin or uprightness will change your final destination, it’s eternal happiness with the Lord. |
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Myth 3: With God being sovereign, those He predestined are guaranteed salvation |
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Myth 6: Election is not of works but of God’s grace. |
Predestination is not in God’s salvation plan; it’s not even in His vernacular. Men nor angels are predestined to forever be in the presence of The Lord regardless of how they live their lives. This was proven when Satan and his following were booted out of Heaven from the presence of The Lord and are forever banned. Those rebellious angels are destined for hell and it was their own choosing. “Their choosing”! Yes, their choosing – their free will in operation. Church, God doesn’t make anyone become holy and righteous – not even angels. God didn’t spare the angels and He won’t spare mankind. As the fallen angels made their choice, humans always have and are still making choices – moral choices – life or death, and wouldn’t be doing so if the predestination doctrine came from God. Salvation is offered to all mankind – not just a select few. Church, you have got to cease making God out to be the author of some twisted little game that He has going on with His creations. The predestination doctrine is twisted because it is very unfair to folks who didn’t ask to be created in the first place and God is not a party to such. Yes, God can do whatsoever He wishes, but He’d never play the game of predestination because He is too just – too fair – absolutely just too holy and good, and for Him to be otherwise is so uncharacteristic of Him. Praise His holy name!
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3).
Salvation isn’t just there waiting on you. You have to act and draw from the wells of it - - from God’s Word coupled with an obedient walk in holiness. You have to work – make moral choices, if you expect eternal happiness. You have to work! If mankind is predestined, what is the point in the Bible instructing them to choose between life and death? Yes, God appoints/chooses/elects human beings for certain missions in life, but His Word (not Paul’s) says nothing about appointing/choosing/electing human beings to salvation since before the foundation of the world. No, no, that’s not God.
It must be asked, if predestination is truly a teaching from Heaven, why didn’t Jesus teach on that instead of the Gospel of salvation? Predestination would have been a much simpler teaching than the Gospel because there is nothing one has to do for eternal life; they’ll get it anyway and whether they want it or not. Predestination and the Gospel of salvation are two opposites – they are opposing plans of salvation – contradictory, and that’s not God.
Was the doctrine of
predestination meant to comfort the Church or in the fullness of time
destroy the Church of Jesus Christ? Predestination is meant to destroy the
Church as in the gates of hell attempting to prevail against The Church of
Jesus Christ. Sad to say, but it has been steadily moving in that
direction since the early church at Rome. (Augustine, highly revered as a
Church Father, was a big advocate of predestination.) Christians
believing they are predestined for salvation justifies the belief that “once
saved, always saved” because there is just no way one can lose salvation.
So-called Christians walking in such heretical doctrine are “free” from
having a healthy respect for sin and its consequences because their sin is
blamed on God being that He supposedly overlooks their sin.
These, usually nominal Christians, don’t have to try to
live right and that’s not Scriptural and is not acceptable before God.
If God predestinated mankind before the foundation of the world,
then (1) there would have been no need for His Son Jesus to be sent to earth
as Savior; (2) there would be no need to become Born Again; (3) there would
be no mandate from Heaven requiring people to live holy; (4) Samson wouldn’t
have been chosen from the womb (Judges 13:5), neither the prophet Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 1:5).
The Tree of Life is the end of on-going salvation; the final stage where it’s yours forever. That’s why God sent Adam & Eve from the Garden and guarded it so that they would not eat of it and immediately gain eternal salvation without having done the their works/deeds that lead to “eternal happiness” or the final phase of salvation – The Tree of Life/eternal happiness. It’s the same for the Church of Jesus Christ and it’s not predestination as Apostle Paul taught.
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Lagniappe Adam and Eve did not come into this world with sin already in their hearts. No human being is born with what is called original sin. Every person is born without sin, but as with Adam and Eve, every human being has the potential to sin when the occasion presents itself. Adam and Eve, as do all other human beings, remained without sin until they “chose” to sin as they exercised authority to say “yes” or “no” when presented with moral choices in life. (Note: This could develop into refutation about Paul’s “one man Adam” having brought sin into the world which also was another of those Pseudepigrapha teachings.) |
Related Must-Read Messages
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Part 1 of Grace Series |
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Part 2 of Grace Series |
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Part 3 of Grace Series |
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Part 4 of Grace Series |
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The Marriage Between "Jesus Did It All" And "Once Saved, Always Saved" |
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