by Dr. James Ray - Executive Editor

GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND HIS SOVEREIGN WILL IS THAT MAN SHOULD CHOOSE.

Some years ago in England I published a Gospel publication known as Bible Truth. The periodical had a wide range of readership, including England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

A reader wrote to me stating that since God was Sovereign, all of His grace had to be sovereign too. Therefore, the term Sovereign Grace was scriptural, meaning that God would save some by that Grace and reject others. The writer went on to explain that “If God wanted to save the whole world, He would do it, and since God has not done it, it is not His will to do so.” This argument, however, quickly breaks down when applied to other areas. For example, shall we conclude that God delights in murder, lying, and adultery because He does not stop these things? Surely being sovereign, He would stop all of this if He did not desire it to happen. The truth is that God DOES allow murder, lies, adultery, and evil in this world and He DOES NOT APPROVE OF IT. His Word abounds with verses against these things. He DOES allow men to reject Him, yet He desires for them to be saved. “WHO WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, AND TO COME UNTO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH” (I Tim. 2:4).

The Bible clearly teaches that God wants all men to be saved; yet some men reject God. The Church and Christ are compared to a husband and wife in Ephesians 5. Is it really honest to say that a bride has absolutely no say in the marriage? It is true the initial choosing is done by the groom, yet what man wants a bride who does not choose him also? When the servant of Abraham asked Rebekah if she would go and become the bride of Isaac, her family said, “Will thou go with this man?” And she said, “I WILL GO.” She made a personal decision. It is clear from verse eight of that chapter that she could have chosen NOT to go. “And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee….”

GOD’S METHOD OF ELECTION IS BASED ON HIS FOREKNOWLEDGE OF THOSE WHO WILL SAY “YES” AND THOSE WHO WILL SAY “NO.”

I Peter 1:2 states, “Elect according to the FOREKNOWLEDGE of God….” Reverend C.I. Scofield wrote concerning this: “The divine order is foreknowledge, election, predestination. That foreknowledge determines the election is clear from I Peter 1:2, and predestination is the bringing to pass of the election. Election looks back to foreknowledge; predestination looks forward to destiny.”

God does not determine the choice. When He looked out into the future to a world full of lost sinners and saw a man, woman, or young person whose heart would respond to the call of the Spirit, who strives with all men, and who would in true faith come to Christ, He said, “That person is MINE” and wrote their names in the Book of Life. Romans 8:29 tells us: “For whom he did FOREKNOW, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

THE BIBLE NEVER TEACHES LIMITED ATONEMENT OR LIMITED GRACE.

If this statement is true, what do we do with such verses as “Esau have I hated…” (Rom. 9:13) and “whom he will he hardeneth” (Rom. 9:18)? We must not lose sight of the context of Romans 8:29 that states the fact of foreknowledge. It is true that Esau and Pharaoh did not have as much of God’s mercy as Moses and Jacob, but it is equally true that they rejected God’s mercy. It was theirs for the having, had they wanted it, but they chose to reject Him, and God (in His foreknowledge) made His decrees on that basis. Also, much of the “election” Scripture is, in fact, written for Israel as a nation rather than for all people everywhere.

One of the cardinal rules of Bible interpretation is that one interprets the minority text by the majority text. We judge the ambiguous by the transparent. We must not reverse this rule. Cults that ignore this rule are born every day. There are myriads of salvation verses teaching “whosoever will” and the freeness of salvation-verses that are plain and clear. Always judge the obscure by the clear. Always judge the minority text by the majority text. I believe that the Bible teaches unlimited atonement and a grace that would save anyone who will come to Him. Long before I ever heard of John Calvin or Jacobus Arminius, I believed that man was saved by GRACE ALONE, without works, and that God’s grace was available to ALL MEN (I John 2:1-2 and Ephesians 2:8-9).

Now I know that some good, earnest and sincere men hold to the doctrine of limited atonement. Many of them are Bible students and love the Word of God. A few even support missionaries. I am sure that I could fellowship with them on most points, with the exception of their belief of limited atonement. I can still be their friend and disagree…but disagree I must. The pure crystal stream of God’s mercy and grace is available for any and all. God declares it so-the Bible teaches that it is so. To deny this fact is to rob multitudes of mercy. To all Christians who are Biblically open minded, I challenge you to keep before you at all times these facts:

1. GOD LOVED THE WHOLE WORLD. “ 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” (John 3: 16).

2. JESUS DIED FOR THE WHOLE WORLD. “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2).

3. GOD WANTS THE WHOLE WORLD TO BE SAVED. “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).

4. GOD WANTS THE WHOLE WORLD TO REPENT. “…that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9b).

5. GOD DOESN’T WANT ANY PERSON TO PERISH. “The Lord is …not willing that any should perish” (II Peter 3:9).

6. FAITH COMES BY HEARING. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

7. AND GOD WANTS ALL THE EARTH TO HEAR. “…ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

8. GOD INVITES EVERYBODY AND ANYBODY TO COME TO CHRIST. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). This was God’s last invitation of the Bible - God’s final word. If these words that fell from the lips of God mean anything - there is NO LIMITED ATONEMENT. Whosoever will…may come. “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD…” (John 3:16) - the whole world.

Pray for the 100 Nations Project!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

John 15:5 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.

Jonathon & Mandy Crews -  BRAZIL
Joel C & Brooke Daku -  KIRIBATI
Paul W & Martha Daku -  FIJI ISLANDS