“On that day Jesus went out of the house, and was sitting by the sea. 2 And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 “And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 “He who has ears, let him hear.” 10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 “For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand (οὐ μὴ συνῆτε – ou mē sunēte); and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive (οὐ μὴ ἴδητε – ou mēidēte); 15 for the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 “For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
(Matthew 13:1-17)
The Parable of the Sower
This is the Parable of the Sower as recounted by Matthew. The reason for quoting the entire passage is so you can see what Jesus is actually referring to as He quotes Isaiah 6:9-10: “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand (οὐ μὴ συνῆτε – ou mē sunēte); and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive (οὐ μὴ ἴδητε – ou mē idēte); 15 for the heart of thispeople has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes
lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them.”
Perfect Passive Verbs
In verses 18-23 of Matthew 13, Jesus goes on to explain the parable to His disciples. But prior to His explanation to them, His intention was to demonstrate to His disciples the great, spiritual darkness the Jews of Israel were in at that specific time He was with them. Indeed, upon the disciples’ question as to why He was speaking in parables, He answered in verse 11 with, “To you [His disciples] it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.” The Greek verb translated, “it has been granted,” is δέδοται (dedotai), and it is a “perfect passive verb,” which means it is emphasizing a completed action at some point with an ongoing and continuous state of being:
The tense in Greek called perfect is really a present perfect. The perfect presents the action of the verb in a completed state or condition. When the action was completed the perfect tense does not tell. It is still complete at the time of the use of the tense by the speaker or writer. The perfect expresses the continuance of completed action. It is then a combination of punctiliar action and durative action. This kind of action expressed by the perfect tense is sometimes called perfective action. The perfect tense as tense is timeless. But in the indicative the time element is present. The perfect indicative generally expresses the present result of a past action. It then has to do with the past and the present.8
That means that at some point in the past, it had been determined to give to these men who were Jesus’ disciples the right, privilege, and ability “to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,” with the ongoing result being that they, in turn, would have an eternal relationship with God and would be enabled to communicate the eternal, spiritual truths of God to a lost and dying world whom God was drawing to Jesus (John 6:44).
Stay tuned for part two as we continue this study on Matthew 13!
Rex Cleveland says
June 6, 2012 at 10:18 amJustin, thanks. One question: punctiliar? I tried to look it up in Webster’s Collegiate and my MacBook Pro dictionaries with no success. Please keep it simple for all of us, including a dummy like me. Thanks again.
Marty Bonner says
June 6, 2012 at 12:20 pmSo were you able to find the definition? Punctiliar refers to a specific point in time versus having a duration (durative)that was on going.
So if you wanted to say that the disciples “were broken at the cross,” you could use the verb in a “punctiliar” form that would focus on that particular point in time. Or, you could use the verb in a perfect form, which references that point in time, but adds to it a “durative” effect that continued up to a later point in time, usually the present. Both would be true, but emphasize very different things.
Eric says
June 6, 2012 at 1:12 pmAs to the disciples’ knowing the mysteries of the kingdom while the Jewish religious leaders had those mysteries veiled, I think Matthew 25:29 sheds some light. “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
Teresa says
June 6, 2012 at 1:39 pmThis seems to open up a couple of questions for me…for instance, was Judas not among those who were given the ability to understand the truth that Jesus came to share? If I were to answer my own question, I’d say that he was blinded by his own agenda, and not open to the truth. Would any of you say otherwise?
Also, we had quite a discussion recently on this blog about predestination, and this sounds to me like the disciples were predestined to be saved, and, of course to be used as they were to receive and spread the gospel, forming the first church. I would welcome comments on this. Thanks in advance!
Linda says
June 6, 2012 at 3:28 pmI think predestination gets included in thoughts of God’s omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience. Because He is all of these three things, He knows the end from the beginning, like looking at a time line in a history book. God is not limited to time like we are and knows what will happen in all circumstances. Jesus chose the disciples because He is following the directions of the Father, it’s a funny kind of give and take because He allows us to have free will, but knows who will accept His call.
I’m not making any sense, I’m sure, but it is a difficult concept for our mortal, puny minds to grasp. One day we will know, as well as we are known.
Jerry S. says
June 7, 2012 at 8:48 amLinda, I agree, only I add that as long as our future is unknown to us and only known by the Father, then He is justified in all He does with our choices.
Jesus chose 12 ambassadors out of a group of existing believers, but believers are given to Him by the Father. Somewhat similar to me being given my biological children in lieu of me choosing who and what they would be.
What do you think??
Teresa says
June 7, 2012 at 11:41 amIt is interesting! Jesus, being God, has all the attributes of God, and so knew the hearts and minds of everyone, including each of the 12 men He was choosing. That means He knew that Judas was not truly His disciple – not truly a Believer, yet Judas was counted as one of the twelve until that day when Judas’ heart was revealed to all.
But was he, as Pastor Justin pointed out in the original post, given “the right, privilege, and ability ‘to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,’ with the ongoing result being that [he], in turn, would have an eternal relationship with God” as the others were?
I suspect that he was given that ability, and chose not to surrender his will to Jesus, thereby forfeiting the “ongoing result of an eternal relationship with God.”
I agree that who would become Jesus’ disciples was His sovereign choice, and that each individual had the opportunity to continue in His will or go his own way.
I agree that it’s much like our earthly children, who may be given every spiritual assist in life, but must choose Jesus (or not) by an act of their individual will.
Brian says
June 12, 2012 at 6:46 amNo one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him in (John 6:44). So this is the first step. But then we are accountable to answer the call after the invitation has been given (Luke 13:6-9).
Barbara LeFevre says
June 12, 2012 at 9:44 amExactly. Thank you, Brian!
Bruce says
June 7, 2012 at 5:30 amInteresting, God pre-determined or (chose) to call all those who will in the future respond or (choose)to obey his instructions, God destined to build a church and add those who respond obediently to that church. Pre-destination is about the destination of the individual, which is determined by the response of the individual to the gospel call. Thanks
Barbara LeFevre says
June 7, 2012 at 2:01 pmBruce~
You are exactly right. People are not predestined to heaven or hell because that would contradict John 3:16 and II Peter 3:9 at the very least. As you wrote, “Pre-destination is about the destination of the individual, which is determined by the response of the individual to the gospel call.” In other words, in His foreknowledge before the foundation of the world, God, “according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11b) predestined that all who respond to His call upon their lives will receive “the adoption of children by Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:5) and will be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29b).
You didn’t mention whether or not you believe that those who have made an initial commitment to Christ according to John 3:3 could lose their salvation, but Paul, for one, was very clear about this matter in his letter to the Corinthians. He wrote, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Cor. 9:24-27). Paul is telling us that believers are in a race to receive an “incorruptible” crown and so gives us a warning. Using himself as the object, he tells us that although the race and fight will not be futile, that even he must continue in the race, bringing his own body into subjection to Christ so that even he will not be a “castaway.” Notice, here, that he is not referring to the loss of any reward but of he, himself, being the castaway. This is loss of salvation, and if anyone in the NT would have been unequivocally “predestined” to obtain eternal life no matter what, it would have been the Apostle Paul, and yet, in very specific and very clear language, he gives a scenario in which he testifies that if he doesn’t finish the race, he will exempt himself from salvation, from receiving the crown of salvation.
Yes, we must never doubt that there is a prize and that God is faithful to deliver that which He has promised, but as Paul again says in II Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” It is clear from these verses that it is not entering the race that guarantees that we will receive the prize but finishing the race.
Sadly, the body of Christ at large has not done a very good job at teaching what is meant by pre-destination, so many believers, I’m afraid, have come to erroneous conclusions by failing to reconcile all pertinent Scripture. We don’t need to guess what is meant by the Word or to wonder about the balance between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. We were given the Word of God in which all truth is given (Matt. 4:4, II Tim. 3:16, Ps. 119:160), and we were given the Holy Spirit to teach us this truth (Jn. 16:13).
I pray that we will each seek after the truth of God’s Word through prayer, study, and living a life in subjection to God’s Holy Spirit.
Yours in Christ~
Barbara
Eric says
June 7, 2012 at 1:20 pmAll Jews could have known the mysteries of the kingdom. Most did not believe in Jesus. Therefore, God blinded them to the truth of further mysteries. With Judas, it is interesting that Jesus instructs Judas in John 13:27 to leave right then and betray Jesus. Jesus then reveals further mysteries to His disciples in John 13:31-17:26 with Judas not around. So, it does look like there was a lot of truth Jesus wanted to share only with His disciples, and not with Judas Iscariot.
Barbara LeFevre says
June 8, 2012 at 5:07 amHi Teresa~
We are told in John 3:16, “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,” so no one is predestined for salvation, including the Apostles.
As to Judas, he was given the same opportunity to hear the truth as everyone else is, but he used his free will to choose to betray Jesus. Judas wasn’t blinded to the truth, at least at the beginning. Jesus wouldn’t have chosen him as one of the twelve and then prevented him from being able to hear and know the truth. I agree with you, though, that he was later “blinded by his own agenda,” but as we know, he did later understand what he had done (Matt. 27:4). As with any person, we are all given the ability to hear the truth. What we do with it is solely our own decision, and we each will reap the consequences of that decision.
In Matthew 15:7-8, Jesus says to the scribes and Pharisees, “[Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me.” If you read about the Intertestamental Period, you will find that by the time Jesus arrived on the scene, the house of Israel, despite its lip service, was very far from God. This is why, when the Truth was right there in the midst of them, they couldn’t see it. Even in this, though, Jesus reached out to them as we are told in Matthew 15:24, which says, “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” How is heart must have been breaking when He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not” (Matt. 23:37). However, even though saddened to His core at the loss of His beloved people, He still had to pronounce judgment upon them as we read in verse 38: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” We see the blindness and spiritual desolation of the house of Israel at large throughout history up to this very day. However, as verse 39 tells us, there will be a remnant saved, and we can praise the Lord for His mercy and faithfulness to Israel as He promised.
The bottom line is that people are not blinded from seeing the truth; they are blinded because they refused to see the truth.
Your sister in Christ~
Barbara
Barbara LeFevre says
June 8, 2012 at 6:59 amHi Teresa~
I commented on your posts, but I posted them in the wrong place. Sorry. I would be interested in your opinion on what I said, though.
Have a blessed day!
Barbara
Teresa says
June 8, 2012 at 11:03 pmThank you so much, Barbara…I always enjoy your thoughtful comments. I only just read these, and it’s quite late, so I don’t dare try to respond right now! (It has sparked some lively debate in the household here, however!) 🙂 If you don’t mind checking back later, I will reply when able!
Barbara LeFevre says
June 9, 2012 at 3:44 amI don’t mind at all! I always look forward to your perspective on these posts! Please don’t feel any pressure to respond quickly. As wonderful as this post is for exchanging our thoughts, we all still have other things to do.
Be blessed!
Teresa says
June 9, 2012 at 5:27 pmHi, Barbara!
I’ve just re-read your post, and appreciate what you had to say. I believe we’re in agreement here, unless you see something in what I’ve said that leads you to think otherwise. As I told Tim, discussing these ideas from Scripture is so enjoyable and helpful to me. It enhances my faith, I guess you could say!
I think that the idea of predestination is one that’s impossible to truly grasp with our earthly handicap. But it doesn’t shake my faith at all. Our God is far above us in every way, and I’m glad of that! I sure wouldn’t want to put my trust in a god who was on the same level as a human being. His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways, and I praise Him with joy for that!
That said, I believe that the Lord knows the hearts of men, and is able to discern whether one is sincerely desirous of reconciling with God. If so, the option to do so is made clear by the Word of God and the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Who gives the person the ability to perceive spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14.) The person has an “awakening” of the spirit, at which time his/her eyes of understanding are opened, and he’s born of the Spirit. To my way of thinking, that’s the same as having been blind, and then able to see.
But, as you say, the person is opening his/her heart, and choosing to receive salvation. (Do I understand you correctly?) I don’t believe that God is responsible for the blindness of our hearts prior to salvation; on the contrary, He’s at the ready to point us to the “cure” when we get tired of fumbling around in the dark! 🙂
From that point, the babe in Christ continues/abides in Him by repeated acts of personal will, with the help of the Holy Spirit. He works out his salvation with fear and trembling, yes? (Philippians 2:12)
Thank you again, Barbara…may the Lord bless you for your kindness in ministering His Word to me. His love is evident in your caring ways!
Barbara LeFevre says
June 10, 2012 at 12:53 pmHi Teresa~
Thank you for responding to my post! Like you, I enjoy reading other believer’s ideas. It really forces us to dig into the Word to find exactly the truth that God has been so gracious to give us on all matters of importance, doesn’t it? What I especially appreciate about you is that I believe you truly think about what is posted, whether from me or someone else, and that is so important. That your family has “lively debate[s]” shows that you are open and searching for God’s truth, something we should all be doing.
I do have a few things to say about your comments, but I won’t be able to get them posted until tomorrow. If you have the time and desire, I would like your thoughts on them.
I pray that you are having a blessed Sabbath!
Barbara
P.S. Although my children and their spouses are saved, they are not where they need to be with the Lord. He has given me some powerful promises about them, but I would appreciate it if you would intercede with me in prayer for them and their families. Their names are Aaron, Tricia, Terrence, and Abbey. Thank you.
Barbara LeFevre says
June 11, 2012 at 6:26 pmHi Teresa~
I know what you mean with the ‘reply’ button. With all the responses going back and forth, it does get a little crazy sometimes finding the right place to post our comments, but I did get your post, and I hope that you get this one!
Before I start, I want to thank you so much for lifting up my family in prayer. It means a great deal to me to be able to reach out, knowing that you and other like-minded people are there at a moment’s notice. Here we are, virtual strangers in the flesh, but connected by something so much greater than anyone of us can fully comprehend, the Spirit of God, working in us and through us to build us up as His holy body that we may do His will and work on Earth. Thank you, again, for your kindness and faithfulness.
There has been quite a bit of discussion about predestination, and many people agree with your statement, “I think the idea of predestination is one that’s impossible to truly grasp with our earthly handicap.” By “earthly handicap,” I assume you mean our finite minds. It is true that our minds our finite, but does this mean that we are not to understand what God has given to us as Scripture? As you know, both God and man said and did a lot more than what God had others write down and pass down to us as Scripture. I have to believe, then, that every bit of what we have received is of utmost importance, and if it is of utmost importance, then I also have to believe that the exact truth is to be known by believers and that it can be known by believers. Isn’t this the truth of I Corinthians 2:14b which tells us that we, as born-again believers, are very much able to “receive the things of the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 2:14b), and isn’t the reality of John 16:13 that we will do so because the Holy Spirit will “guide [us] into all truth” (Jn. 16:13b)? Why, then, do we believe otherwise? In other words, if the concept of predestination is truly beyond our comprehension, then why would God have had His holy men write about it to the degree that He did in Romans 8 and Ephesians 1? Why would He have given us examples and details? Granted, this topic is not given the physical space that is afforded other doctrines, but there is something very profound in what has been given to us in order that we may understand something greater and deeper about salvation.
As you know from reading my posts, I studied this particular doctrine within a larger study of whether true, born-again believers can lose their salvation, so please forgive me, here, for repeating myself. To begin, the doctrine of predestination really isn’t difficult to understand at all, but because of leaven being introduced and allowed to grow within the body of Christ, about which I will write later, there is a great deal of misinformation and confusion. As we know, God’s entire plan of salvation is as God is, eternal, before the foundation of the world, and an integral part of that plan is what would eventually happen, at His hand, to those people who initially and continually accepted His call upon their lives, those who entered and finished the race. When we study the context in which predestination is clarified, we can see that it isn’t a concept that is vague or shrouded in mystery but one that merely explains God’s plan for believers. As I recently wrote in a post to Bruce, in His foreknowledge before the foundation of the world, God, “according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11b) predestined that all who respond to His call upon their lives will receive “the adoption of children by Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:5) and will be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29b). These are just two simple truths. The sequence in Romans 8:29-30 is nothing more than God telling us that He has a plan for believers, the very plan He alludes to in Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Because He is omniscient and knows who will accept His Son, He does “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). This, in NO way, however, implies causation. We are free to come to Christ, and we are free to leave. We choose to have Jesus author our faith, and we choose to have Him be the finisher of our faith. The bottom line is that all predestination is, is God’s plan that He’s always had, that believers will eventually be glorified, nothing more, nothing less. Those that He foreknows as believers He calls out of the world and into His kingdom. This is why Paul says with confidence, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Tim. 4:7-8). As I wrote in an earlier post, I really struggled with Romans 8:29-30 because I just couldn’t reconcile them with the biblical fact that a believer can, through rejection or continued apathy, lose his or her salvation. However, through much study and prayer, God opened my eyes to the obvious in verse 28, three words that almost escape detection… “that love God.” The declaration put forth in these three verses doesn’t mean, as even some pastors (e.g. David Guzik) have suggested, that the implication is that those who begin the sequence will complete it. It means that those who “love God,” implying loving Him continually, not just initially, are guaranteed of God’s faithfulness to complete in them this sequence up to and including glorification.
While I agree with you that the “Holy Spirit [is the One] Who gives the person the ability to perceive spiritual things,” I respectfully don’t agree with the idea that “The person has an ‘awakening’ of the spirit, at which time his/her eyes of understanding are opened, and he’s born of the Spirit.” I say this because the idea of an “awakening” is Calvinistic, borne from his theology that people are either predestined to hell or to heaven. In this line of thinking, a person, because he (or she) is predestined by God to be saved, is totally incapable of doing anything of his own accord to enter the kingdom of God, that he, at some point, merely recognizes or is ‘awakened’ by the Holy Spirit to the fact that he is already saved. This viewpoint, however, fails to take into account a great deal of Scripture regarding individual responsibility for entering God’s kingdom, which is the leaven to which I referred earlier.
In Matthew 16:12, Jesus warns us that we are to beware of the leaven, or false doctrine, of the Pharisees and Sadducees, an idea He further expands upon in Revelation 2:14 in which He says, “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Jesus is saying that there is a “doctrine” of Balaam and, as you know, a doctrine is a teaching. Jesus doesn’t tell what the doctrine is in this verse or in the following. I didn’t know what the doctrine was, so I did some research. It is the story in which Balak wanted Balaam to directly curse Israel for money but, because he couldn’t, he taught Balak how to set a stumbling block before Israel: “Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor” (Num. 31:16a) and “Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods” (Num. 25:1-2). In the commentaries I read, the “doctrine of Balaam,” then, was the archetype of all corrupt doctrines taught by false teachers in order to cast stumbling blocks, especially for money (II Pet. 2:15, Jude 1:11). The stumbling block for Israel which resulted in their eating “things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication” was just like Satan today; he can’t curse us directly, but he can, through false teachers/prophets, sidetrack us from the truth through false doctrine. Because of Balaam’s council, the Israelites joined the Midianites in their pagan worship. In Revelation 2:14, Jesus is not saying that eating meat offered to idols is forbidden. He’s warning the church in Pergamos that they are guilty of the “doctrine of Balaam.” They are heeding false doctrines and teachers that were becoming stumbling blocks for them as believers.
The warning that Jesus gives in Matthew and Revelation is obviously for our benefit, too. I don’t know where the “doctrine of Balaam” known as limited atonement originated, but it is a sure thing that it was John Calvin who was responsible for mainstreaming this ungodly leaven through his T.U.L.I.P. acronym, and it was Charles Spurgeon in more modern times who regularly expounded upon this heresy with great eloquence. Sadly, even today, many pastors and teachers (including those where I worship) are content to keep right on allowing this destructive doctrine to taint their congregations. They may not adhere to the severity of each point in Calvin’s teaching, but even if one believes that he or she is “chosen” but doesn’t study to contrast Calvin’s teaching with the Bible’s, one will come away with the false notion that he is somehow immune to losing his salvation, and that is a problem. Because salvation is the goal, whether one believes that predestination means that one is just “awakened” to the reality of being saved or that one is predestined to glory only if he continually loves the Lord (irrespective of any initial commitment) and finishes the race, then it is imperative that it can be substantiated by the whole counsel of God because the second scenario, if correct and not acted upon, will leave some at the judgment seat rather than the bema seat.
I am totally and constantly amazed at the content of God’s Word to us. There is absolutely nothing~no philosophy, no practice, no thought, and no doctrine~that He hasn’t clearly and repeatedly addressed so that we would know His truth. For example, how can Calvin, Spurgeon, and others even attempt to give credibility to limited atonement in light of John 3:16? How can they even teach that people can do absolutely nothing to be saved when Scripture very plainly tells us that we must “repent” (Acts 3:19), “confess [and] believe” (Rom. 10:9), and “call upon the name of the Lord” (Rom. 10:13) to be saved? How can they teach a doctrine that not only casts serious doubt on Peter’s ability to hear God’s inspired Word but upon Jesus Himself who chose Peter as His Apostle given that Peter wrote that “The Lord….[is] not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Pet. 3:9)?
It is true, as you wrote, that we are blind and that God is not responsible for it, and it is also true that He’s “ready to point us to the ‘cure.’ I think there are two very strong verses that illustrate how God reaches to us in His sovereignty: John 6:44 tells us that “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” In Revelation 3:20, Jesus tells us, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Our part is to respond to God’s call upon our life as the verses in the above paragraph demonstrate. God then, alone, saves us. At our new birth, we receive a new heart, the mind of Christ, and the ability to understand spiritual matters. (How great is that? ☺) With these, we “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phl. 2:12b). As Paul teaches us through his life, “ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phl. 3:14), and he again tells us, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (I Cor. 9:24).
I hope that I understood what you wrote and that I responded accordingly. Please let me know if I was unclear or if you have any thoughts about what I wrote because I use people’s comments as points of study. I look forward to hearing from you!
Have a blessed day, my sister!
Barbara
Tim says
June 6, 2012 at 5:30 pmRe: predestination
The problem cannot be resolved completely in finite time & space, by finite minds restricted to time & space. That, however doesn’t mean that both cannot be accurate at the same time. The ultimate resolution resides with the One whose, ‘ways and thoughts are higher than ours’.
I have an example of the danger of trying to apply finite annalogies to this problem, but don’t have time at the moment. I’ll post it later.
Teresa says
June 6, 2012 at 10:06 pmLinda & Tim, thank you for your answers. Both really confirmed my own beliefs on the matter. I do look forward to your post, Tim. God bless you both for taking the time!
Tim says
June 9, 2012 at 10:08 amTeresa,
Sorry for the delay.
First a point of clarity. The “both” I was reffering to is the issue of our liberty of will and God’s foreknowledge. I use ‘liberty of will’ intsead of ‘free will’ for a specific reason, though it is a minor point. In todays culture, ‘free/freedom’ carries with it freedom from consequences, which of course isn’t accurate. We do have liberty to choose, but those choices have consequences. It’s my opinion that there is only one true freedom available to man, that is the freedom from God’s wrath for those who accept God’s plan of salvation and receive eternal life through Jesus’ blood. Hebrews 9 provides a good starting point for the sufficiency of His blood.
Now to finite analogies.
I heard Norman Giesler’s attempt to explain the problem. To be fair I don’t think he was trying to give a complete explaination. This a bit lengthy, so I hope I can get it clear. So here goes.
Imagine an office building on a corner where two one way streets converge. There is a man standing on the third floor of a corner office looking out of the window. He can see the intersection and both one way streets that converge there. He notices that
there is a malfunction in the traffic signals, and both lights are green. He sees two cars approaching the intersection, one from each direction. He realizes that the building is blocking the view of each driver, so they are unaware they will collide at the intersection. The rest is fairly straight forward.
Dr. Giesler points out that the man, although he has foreknowledge of the collison, has no moral responsibility for it, which is true. This might serve to show foreknowledge doesn’t necessarily impute responsibility, however he then places God in the position of the man on the third floor. The man on the third floor is a hapless onlooker, God on the other hand isn’t. In fact God’s foreknowledge is such that He even knows the atoms and molecules that make up the vehicles and the drivers. In fact He had that depth of knowledge before He even created the universe. This finite analogy falls very short.
The Calvanist would say then that logic would dictate that God created some people without the ability to receive salvation, and therefore Jesus’ atonement is ‘limited’, which is the ‘L’ in ‘TULIP’.
How can He be a “just judge” then? ‘The just for the unjust’etc. They seem to overlook that Jesus purchased two ‘rights’ with His blood. The right to redeem those of us who accept His sacrifice, and the right to judge those who refuse it.
Conclusion: Although predestination does include ‘being conformed’ into the image & likeness of Christ, we are still left with God’s total foreknowledge and the teaching of our liberty of will that God foreknew. We are still responsible moral agents. God is also a responsible moral agent, so He provided His Son’s blood for us, which would seem to be the responsible thing for a just and loving God to do, but He left our liberty to choose or reject it intact and up to us.
God chose to allow both groups to be born.
In my personal opinion, we run into the totality of God’s infinite attributes in this question. Infinity, by definition, has no definition in the finite realm. “..by definition, has no definition”, a definite paradox in time, space & mater, but still true, both in time, space & mater and in eternity/infinity:
Answer, “The just shall live by faith.” I believe both to be true because God’s word teaches both, and Jesus prayed, ” Father, sanctify them with Thy truth, Thy word is truth”.
‘Here I stand’, completely corrupt in my flesh ( no good thing, that is in my flesh, resides in me’), and yet clothed in His righteousness, in garments washed in His blood. I cry out with the Psalmist!, ! What is man and who am I that You oh Lord, should take notice of me! Amen?
Teresa says
June 9, 2012 at 4:00 pmThank you for sharing this, Tim! I thoroughly enjoy discussing these beautiful quandaries, and I do agree with your conclusions: we can’t fully understand the ways of God, and when we can’t, we accept His Word by faith.
It’s true that there are few (if any) earthly analogies that sufficiently explain these things. How thankful I am to know that God can’t be explained with our limited minds; that His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not at all like ours. It humbles me, and, at the same time, gives me great joy!
I appreciate the time that you took to put together a very clear & thoughtful answer. May the Lord bless you as you continue in Him!
Jerry S. says
June 7, 2012 at 8:13 pmJustin, Here is a question for you. In your explanation of Jesus intentions you say, “His intention was to demonstrate to His disciples the great, spiritual darkness the Jews of Israel were in at that specific time He was with them.” It would be safe to say that Jesus and His disciples are Jewish. Being descendants of Israel themselves, would they be included in this darkness of the Jews of Israel in that time or any other time? If not, how would they be differentiated out?
Separate issue, I believe one of the Mysteries of the Kingdom revealed would be, especially at the time our Lord was with us, was that the Kingdom would include anyone who wasn’t Jewish, being that the lives lived by Jesus and the disciples of that time and prior were lives of Hebrews. I thank Jesus that it is just a mystery to us and that all peoples are invited into the Kingdom. Try thinking of the Kingdom of Heaven and/or the Kingdom of this World, John 18:36, not as a place but as a type. What are your thoughts?
J.
Eric says
June 7, 2012 at 8:36 pmJesus says in John 18:36 that “now is my kingdom not from hence,” showing that it will be in the future. Revelation 11:15 tells of this future time when “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Then, his kingdom will be from hence, i.e., from the earth.
Teresa says
June 10, 2012 at 3:14 pmBarbara, I hope you’ll see this reply – there was no “reply” link after your last post; maybe there’s a limit to how many replies are in a thread? (oh, no!)
Yes, I’ll check back periodically for your response to my comments. (Your reply to my reply to…) 🙂
You’ve honored me with your request to pray for your children and their families…be assured that they will be added to my prayer journal this very day, and I will lift them up in prayer regularly.
Barbara LeFevre says
June 11, 2012 at 6:30 pmHi Teresa~
In case you can’t find my response, I posted on the reply button for June 9!
Barbara
Daniel L M'mionki says
June 12, 2012 at 1:09 pmThanks, Justin,
And I am so looking forward to Part 2.
And, I really hope you will address this: I used to have issues with the common understanding of verses 12 and 13 – the reason for the use of parables; until I read Chuck Smith’s (C2000 series) exegesis of that part where he explains that parables are used so that the dull of hearing and understanding may understand. So a parable would help the pharisees see the truth.
That being so, and it is an excellent explanation, what is it that, from the pharisees who do not have, “shall be taken away” (vs. 12)?
Teresa says
June 20, 2012 at 9:40 amHi there, Barbara,
Re June 11 post ~ Please forgive the loooong delay in replying to your post! Things got unusually busy these past weeks, but I do want to acknowledge your reply. Pastor Justin’s instruction was helpful, don’t you think?
I appreciate the time and study that you put into each post, Barbara. You’ve inspired me to study further, to show myself approved, and to be able to rightly divide the Word – in my own heart and to others.
I look forward to following your comments in the future, and be assured that your children and their families will continue to be a subject of my prayers!
God bless you!
Teresa