Dear Brother
Faull:
What about Romans 9
and Pre-destination?
ANSWER:
Romans 9 does not teach what Calvinists think it
teaches.
God is no respecter of persons. He does not elect one to
salvation and another to damnation.
HE DOES ELECT PERSONS FOR SERVICE AND NOT
ANOTHER. He did in the past and He does today in the
Church. He elected the nation of Israel to be His people
for service.
He chose Shem to be the race, Abraham to be the nation
of that race, Judah to be the tribe of that nation, Jesse to
be the family of that tribe, David to be the house of that
family, and Mary to be the individual of that house through
whom Messiah would come and BLESS ALL NATIONS.
He did not choose Shem to be saved and Ham and
Japheth to be lost.
He did not choose Abraham to be saved and Nahor lost.
He did not choose Judah to be saved and his 11 brothers
lost.
He did not choose to save Jesse and damn his brothers,
nor did He choose David to salvation and his brothers to
be lost.
He did not choose to save Mary and her siblings lost.
HE CHOSE THEM FOR SERVICE, NOT SALVATION!!!
It was through them that the Messiah would come. It was
through them that the Incarnate Word would be given.
What advantage hath the Jew? Much every way, chiefly
that unto them were committed the oracles of God, to
whom pertaineth the adoption, the glory, the covenant,
the giving of the Law, the service of God, and the
promises. Romans 3:2 and Romans 9:4
Not all of Abraham’s seed were chosen for service. The
election was Isaac, not Ishmael nor his second wives’
children.
Likewise, Jacob was not chosen for salvation over Esau.
Jacob was chosen for service. It was not of him that wills
or runneth that God gives the privilege of being the
chosen vessels of service. He chooses whomsoever He
wills to be the one through whom He works.
Sometimes, due to His foreknowledge, He would raise up
a particular man to earthly honor and elevate him to be
King as he did the Pharaoh of the Exodus. He knew that
man. He knew he would resist Him and God would be
able to display His power over all the gods of the
Egyptians because of their stubbornness.
He did not want to raise up some weak milquetoast at that
time that would obey Moses. He raised up this Pharaoh
whom God knew would harden his heart and rebel
against Him so God could show His power to Israel and
the world.
Notice that the first few times it says, “Pharaoh hardened
his heart”. Then after a few more times when he was
really in rebellion, God is said to harden his heart. God
provoked him to wrath by His miracles as each one made
him more hardened.
It is like a son who is rebellious and hard-hearted already,
but when the father puts more on him the father is said to
harden the son’s heart. God did not have to do anything
to him to harden his heart initially. He raised up that
particular man because He knew him and that each
plague would harden him that much more. He was
chosen to be the king so that God could show His power.
Romans 9:17, Exodus 9:16-17
We have no right to complain that He uses one lump of
clay to glory and another lump to dishonor. God, in His
mercy, has made us both Jews and Gentiles, to His glory.
How? “As many as receive him to them gave he power
"From the cowardice that shrinks from
new truth, from the laziness that is content
with half truths, from the arrogance that
thinks it knows all truth, O, God of Truth,
deliver us."2 THE GOSPEL UNASHAMED July 2010
(the authority) to become the Sons of God, even those
who believe on his name.” John 1:12
Gentiles can, like Abraham, attain unto the righteousness
of faith. The Jews continue to try to be saved by law. They
do not seek righteousness by faith, as our father Abraham
did, but go about to establish their own righteousness.
Romans 10: 3
Let me illustrate a Biblical election to service:
A sodbuster in 1888 had five kids. He said to his oldest
son," Lets go into town and get some supplies. " "But Dad
I wanted to go hunting," said the boy. "Well, bring your
gun along and we’re bound to see something on the way
back," said the father.
All the kids wanted to go to the town overnight with them
to get the supplies. The father laughed and said, "If I took
the whole family there would be no room for the supplies.
We will bring back some goodies for all of you. This trip is
for all of the family." So they left.
Once they got to town it was evening, as it was a long
way to town. The boy was excited because there was a
circus in town. He got to see a lot of strange sites, a
shooting display, the fat lady, the midget, the elephants
and lions and even a ventriloquist. He got to sleep in the
hotel and eat in a restaurant. Dad even let him try some of
the new fangled ice cream.
The next morning they went to the general store and the
boy got to eat some new candy as he helped load the
wagon. He had a lot of privileges that the other 4 kids did
not have, but Dad had chosen him, not because he loved
him more, but he was the strongest. He could help load
the wagon and watch for trouble on the way home. He got
to shoot a deer on the way home and he and his father
lifted the heavy carcass into the wagon.
When they got home, the other kids came running and
were given some goodies. The whole family was blessed
for the winter because they had gone. Now the older son
was chosen for service. It was not that he was the favorite
even though he had special opportunities. The whole
family was blessed as the father intended them to be all
along.
Now note Abraham. “I am going to bless you, make you a
great nation, and in thy Seed (Singular, Christ) ALL the
nations of the earth will be blessed.” He was told, “You
shall be a blessing.” God blessed Abraham and used him
to bless all men. When Jesus was born it was said, "Fear
not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which
shall be to ALL people." (Not just an elect few that God
chose to save.)
What a damnable, ugly doctrine Calvinism is. God is no
respecter of persons. The offer is to whosoever will.
Come unto me All ye that labor and heavy laden and I will
give you rest.
The secret of understanding the Bible is not to use the
difficult passage that seems to contradict the simple ones.
The thing to do is to take the simple ones that are plain
and try to understand the difficult one. Calvinism likes to
use Romans 9 with their blasphemous doctrine of TULIP
and make John 3:16, Mark 16:15-16, and the great
commission and a zillion more that promises salvation to
any believer, untrue.
Remember that God chooses specific men and women
for service, not salvation. “He’s not willing that any should
perish but all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9
“He wills all men to be saved.” I Timothy 2:4